[Radiotherapy instead of second-line chemotherapy in patients with Hodgkin's disease in partial remission after treatment with cytostatics]. / Radioterapia zamiast chemioterapii "drugiej linii" u chorych na ziarnice zlosliwa w czesciowej remisji po leczeniu cytostatykami.

Radiotherapy was given to 32 patients with Hodgkin's disease (clinical stage IIA-IIIA) in whom chemotherapy given as the first treatment produced partial remission or minimal regression with disappearance of all systemic symptoms (27 cases) or recurrence developed after earlier treatment with cytostatic agents (5 cases). For a more accurate determination of the extent of lesions before radiotherapy in 24 cases laparotomy was done with splenectomy. Radiotherapy given in place of a second course of chemotherapy led in 24 cases (75%) to complete remission lasting from 8 to 62 months, mean 23.2 months. Twenty-one patients are still in continuing remission. These results point to the usefulness of considering the possibility of using radiation energy for the treatment of patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease (phase IIP-IIIP) in whom cytostatic drugs given as a first-line therapy failed to produce complete remission after 4-6 treatment courses, but caused some regression of symptoms with disappearance of systemic signs.