Advances in lymphoma treatment

There have been considerable advances in the management of patients with lymphoma over the past three decades. In Hodgkin's disease, there was a major break-through in the late 1960s with the development of the MOPP combination regimen. Using this and other more recent combinations, remission rates of up to 80 pc may be achieved overall with many patients having durable remissions. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma there have been few advances in therapy of the indolent low-grade varieties which remain largely incurable. In the aggressive high-grade lymphomas, some subtypes have proved highly responsive to intensive cytotoxic programmes, giving remission rates and relapse-free survival rates of 70-80 pc. Certain categories, however, such as lymphoblastic lymphoma, remain a problem. Bone marrow transplantation and biological response modifiers have been important recent developments. The search for treatment strategies that improve survival and have relatively low toxicity is a continuing challenge.