Present and Future in Treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma, formerly known as Hodgkin disease, has gone from an incurable disease to one with a cure rate of almost 75%. The disease is defined in terms of its microscopic appearance (histology) and the expression of cell surface markers (immunophenotype), but its biologic behavior and clinical characteristics are also important.

Treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma is tailored to disease type, disease stage, and an assessment of the risk of resistant disease. General treatment modalities include radiation therapy, induction chemotherapy, salvage chemotherapy, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.