Peritransplant Radiation Therapy in Patients With Refractory or Relapsed Hodgkin Lymphoma Undergoing Autologous Stem Cell Transplant: Long-Term Results of a Retrospective Study of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi

Advanced Stage Hodgkin and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphomas: Is There Still a Role for Consolidation Radiotherapy in the PET Era?

The role of radiotherapy in the treatment of lymphoma is rapidly evolving. The development of modern systemic therapies and the adoption of FDG-PET-scanning as metabolic prognosticators are leading to a process of refinement of the treatment regimens. In this scenario, radiotherapy utilization is decreasing in several settings, including lower risk patients, to prevent the risk of long-term complications. Over the last decade, the most relevant changes in the treatment landscape are evident for advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. The main purpose of this paper is to review radiotherapy indications in these settings, to highlight pros and cons of a PET-guided strategy for radiotherapy recommendations, and to introduce future perspectives on the combination of radiotherapy and modern systemic therapies in both frontline and relapsed setting of advanced stage Hodgkin and diffuse large B cell lymphomas.

Future perspectives of radiation therapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma: Risk-adapted, response-adapted, and safer than before

Classical Hodgkin lymphoma is a lymphoproliferative disease with a good prognosis mainly seen in young people. Nevertheless secondary malignancy, cardiac disease and infertility may affect the long survivors with significant impact on quality of life, morbidity and overall survival. In the last decades several treatment strategies were evaluated to reduce the toxicity of first line treatment such as avoiding radiotherapy or its reduction in terms of dosage and extension. Many trials including interim Positron Emission Tomography evaluation fail to compare efficacy between combined modality treatment versus chemotherapy alone in particular in early stage disease. In this review we analyze which subset of patients could take advantage from proton therapy in terms of toxicity and cost effectiveness.