Hodgkin's lymphoma in children aged 5 years or less - the United Kingdom experience.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to describe the natural history of Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL) in a large unselected group of children aged 5 years or below at diagnosis, who were treated on a standard treatment programme in the United Kingdom between 1982 and 2000.


METHODS
Eighty-one unselected children with HL aged 5 years or under at diagnosis, treated on the United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group (UKCCSG) Hodgkin's trials HD1 (1982-1992) and HD2 (1992-2000), were included in the study.


RESULTS
Sixty-one patients (81%) presented with early stage disease (n=66). Fifty-three patients (65%) received combination chemotherapy, 28 (34%) received involved field radiotherapy (IF-RT) and 4 patients were treated with combined modality therapy. Eighteen children relapsed after primary therapy.


CONCLUSIONS
Children treated with IF-RT had a higher rate of primary treatment failures as well as increased late treatment-related morbidity.
Stoneham
S
S
Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, University College Hospital NHS Trust, 1st Floor, West Wing, 250, Euston Road, London NW1 2PG, UK.
Ashley
S
S
Pinkerton
Ross
R
Hewitt
Martin
M
Wallace
W H B
WH
Shankar
A G
AG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000401:mortality; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D017211:Treatment Failure; D006113:United Kingdom