Radiotherapy for Early-Stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma: A 21st Century Perspective and Review of Multiple Randomized Clinical Trials

The treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma has improved dramatically over the past decades. Over the last half century, Hodgkin's lymphoma has become one of the most curable cancers of adulthood. More than 90% of the patients with localized stages of the disease can be cured with modern treatment strategies. Long-term toxicities are now the major concern for survivors of early-stage disease. Contemporary therapeutic approaches for Hodgkin's lymphoma attempt to preserve the high cure rate achieved, while reducing treatment-related acute and late toxicities. The aim of this review is to re-examine the historical and the current role of radiotherapy for early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma, given the latest evidence of an increasing role of chemotherapy for the treatment of this malignancy. The literature search was performed in PubMed Plus. Studies on children were excluded.