What is the price of survival in Hodgkin's lymphoma? Long-term follow-up of cured patients.

The paper investigates the late complications of cured Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) patients. Ninety cured HL patients between 1975 and 1994 were examined. The mean ages of patients at the time of diagnosing HL, and the median period of survival after diagnosis were 32 (11-70) years and 18 (10-30) years, respectively. Among the 90 patients, 73 are still alive, there is no information about 9 and 8 patients died, second malignant disease being the cause of death in 4 of them. Relapse was observed in 24 patients, of which 19 recovered after relapse and were included in the study then. Five patients had late relapse. In 38% of patients, cardiovascular changes, while in 32% pulmonary and pleural damages were observed. Disorders of the thyroid gland, overwhelmingly hypothyroidism, were found in 24%. Less frequently, a second malignant tumour (9%), damage to the skin, musculature, bones and genitourinary system (6%) as well as the gastrointestinal system could be detected. Treatment based on modern therapeutic approaches is expected to decrease the incidence of complications. Still the aim is early detection through close patient follow-up, which may improve the quality of life and decrease mortality as a result.