Abstract
Chemotherapy is the standard treatment for advanced-stage Hodgkin's disease (HD) and a therapeutic alternative for early-stage disease. However, optimal therapy for children with HD is controversial. In this study, 7 patients (6 previously untreated and 1 with relapse) aged 3 to 13 years with HD treated in our institution from 1984 to 2000 were evaluated retrospectively. All patients were treated with combination chemotherapy, which consisted of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisolone (COPP) in 2 patients, both COPP and pirarubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) in 1, and ABVD in 4. Two patients who received COPP and the 1 patient with relapse had added radiotherapy. Two patients developed severe infection (herpes zoster and CMV pneumonia) during COPP, but no patients developed severe myelotoxicity during ABVD. During a follow-up period of 9-205 months, all patients were alive without disease. No patient has developed a second malignancy, hypothyroidism, or hypogonadism. Based on our small number of patients, we concluded that ABVD without radiotherapy is effective and safe in the treatment of HD. However, the study of more patients and further follow-up are needed.
