Radiation after chemotherapy unnecessary for some Hodgkin's patients

When the world's most influential lymphoma study group speaks, the cancer community listens. At this year's annual meeting of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), that group has spoken: Patients with may be spared additional radiotherapy following chemotherapy if they have

Investigators from the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) presented research that showed that the results of a positron-emission tomography (PET) scan should dictate treatment after the completion of chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. If the scan comes back negative, the Study Group believes that the patient can be spared the additional radiotherapy that would ordinarily follow.

To wit, the only patients who should be considered for radiotherapy after chemotherapy are advanced-stage Hodgkin's patients (III-IV) who have residual disease and come up with a positive PET scan.

This is a significant development since radiotherapy raises the risk of secondary cancer later in life. Any means of reducing that risk without compromising treatment efficacy is always welcome.

You can read a more detailed presentation of the GHSG data at Oncology Report.