ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To apply the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) risk model in patients with recurrent/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma receiving involved-field radiotherapy after autologous stem cell transplantation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study consisted in the retrospective analysis of 30 consecutive patients with recurrent/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma who received involved-field radiotherapy after autologous stem cell transplantation. Our policy was of adding involved-field radiotherapy for patients with positive PET scan before autologous stem cell transplantation (23 out of 30 patients, 77%), and/or irradiating sites of bulky disease at relapse (11 out of 30 patients, 37%). Patients were stratified into four risk groups according to the presence of the five clinical risk factors identified by the GHSG; (1) stage IV disease; (2) time to relapse≤3 months; (3) ECOG-PS≥1; (4) bulk≥5cm; and (5) inadequate response to salvage chemotherapy. RESULTS: The median interval from autologous stem cell transplantation to involved-field radiotherapy was 3 months (range, 1-7 months), and the median involved-field radiotherapy dose was 35Gy (range, 12-40Gy). At a median follow-up of 35 months (range, 1-132 months), the 2-year progression-free survival in the entire series was 60%. When examining the four different GHSG risk groups, the progression-free survival rate at 2 years was 86%, 83%, 50%, and 36% for patients with score=0, score=1, score=2, and score=3 to 5, respectively (P=0,01). Among the 12 patients havingat leastthree risk factors who underwent thoracic involved-field radiotherapy, three (25%) developed pneumonitis. CONCLUSION: The adoption of the GHSG risk model at the time of recurrence/progression is a useful prognostic tool to select patients with Hodgkin lymphoma for consolidative involved-field radiotherapy after autologous stem cell transplantation.
Subject(s)
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation , Hodgkin Disease/radiotherapy , Models, Theoretical , Radiotherapy, Adjuvant , Risk Assessment/methods , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Hodgkin Disease/diagnostic imaging , Hodgkin Disease/therapy , Humans , Kaplan-Meier Estimate , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Staging , Positron-Emission Tomography , Prognosis , Progression-Free Survival , Radiation Pneumonitis/epidemiology , Radiation Pneumonitis/etiology , Retrospective Studies , Risk Factors , Salvage Therapy , Survival Rate , Transplantation Conditioning , Transplantation, Autologous , Treatment Outcome , Young AdultABSTRACT
The reverse seroconversion to hepatitis B virus infection has been sporadically described in onco-haematological patients receiving cytotoxic therapy or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and can be associated with the development of acute icteric hepatitis. We present a male HBsAg-negative, anti-HBc-positive patient with Hairy Cell Leukemia who developed acute B hepatitis more than 1 year after the last course of 2-CdA and 6 months after splenectomy, while the patient was receiving therapy with alphaIFNr. The acute B hepatitis promptly responded to lamivudine therapy followed by viral clearance.