Tumour-directed radiotherapy as a successful bridge to curative chemotherapy in early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma-associated vanishing bile duct syndrome.

ABSTRACT

Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL)-associated vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS) is a paraneoplastic phenomenon leading to cholestasis, end-stage liver failure and potentially death, due to cholestatic liver dysfunction typically precluding the commencement of curative intent chemotherapy. A female in her 20s presented with pruritus, jaundice and cholestatic hepatitis on laboratory tests, confirmed as VBDS on liver biopsy. CT of the chest demonstrated a mediastinal mass and widespread cervical lymphadenopathy. The patient received 30.6 Gy in 17 fractions to the involved sites of disease which led to a marked improvement in liver function, allowing curative intent chemotherapy to be initiated. The patient achieved complete metabolic response and at the most recent follow-up she had no signs of recurrent disease and near-normal liver function tests. This demonstrates that tumour-directed radiotherapy can be used as a potential bridge to curative chemotherapy in early stage HL-associated VBDS.