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Treatment of Hodgkin's disease in children with or without radiotherapy
Author(s) -
Behrendt Henk,
van Bunningen Bart N. F. M.,
van Leeuwen Eleonore F.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19870601)59:11<1870::aid-cncr2820591105>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - medicine , procarbazine , radiation therapy , vincristine , prednisone , disease , stage (stratigraphy) , lymph node , chemotherapy , surgery , cyclophosphamide , paleontology , biology
From 1975 until 1984 37 children with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's disease were treated with six mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP) courses with or without involved field radiotherapy (25 Gy) independent of the stage of their disease. Patients with small lymph node tumors (<4 cm) received only six MOPP‐courses. Patients with large lymph node tumors (>4 cm) received involved field radiotherapy, 25 Gy to the large tumor masses, between the third and fourth MOPP‐course. For the 21 patients with “small” tumors, the disease‐free survival (DFS) rate is 90%. In this group two patients with clinical stage (CS) III disease have relapsed but both are alive after successful salvage treatment. The median follow‐up time is 69.7+ months. For the 16 patients with larger tumor masses (>4 cm) the DFS rate is 87.5%. In this group one patient with CS II relapsed and died of Hodgkin's disease, and one with CS III relapsed after 37 months, but is now without evidence of disease, 61 months from diagnosis. The median follow‐up time is 62+ months. Most of the children with Hodgkin's disease diagnosed before or during puberty can be cured with chemotherapy alone, and thus will not suffer from the damaging late effects of radiotherapy.