Abstract
Seventeen patients with Hodgkin's disease were observed at our department between 1958 to 1988. Their ages were from 2 years and 2 months to 15 years and 8 months (median of 6 years and 3 months). Eleven were male and 6 were female. Mixed cellularity was the most frequent histopathological subtype and comprised 51 %. Nodular sclerosis comprised only 21 %. The time from the onset to diagnosis was not different between 10 cases of early stage (IA and IIA) and 7 cases of advanced stage (IIIA, IVA and B stage). The overall survival curve reached a plateau at 55.2% 2 years from diagnosis. A majority of the cases of early stage diagnosed before 1977, when the treatment was inadequate, were alive, although many of them had multiple relapses and the duration of treatment was around 6 years. All but 1 of the cases diagnosed after 1977 including 1 with B stage were alive without relapses after treatment of 2 years by combination chemotherapy with and without low-dose radiotherapy. The necessity of pathological staging procedure may be eliminated by a combination of combination chemotherapy and low-dose radiotherapy.
