title: What is the best treatment for children with limited-stage Hodgkin lymphoma?
abstract: Limited-stage Hodgkin lymphoma remains a challenging problem for pediatric oncologists. Published and investigative treatment regimens represent varied approaches to balance the excellent overall and event-free survival with the substantial potential for long-term sequelae of effective treatment modalities. Regimens incorporating low-dose radiation to smaller fields and chemotherapy that limits cumulative exposure to the agents most closely associated with long-term complications have been shown to be effective for most patients. Investigative approaches to optimize overall therapy focus on identifying which patients require more or less therapy. A recent example is the use of response-based therapy as a means of limiting or omitting radiation for those with an early, rapid response to chemotherapy. Biologic markers that influence risk for treatment failure or treatment-related toxicities have been only minimally defined. This paper reviews recently published treatment regimens for children and adolescents and presents some considerations for choosing a treatment approach for individual patients.
authors.affiliation: Aflac Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University, 1405 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. frank.keller@choa.org
authors.forename: Frank G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: Sharon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Castellino
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Nachman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome