First-line treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma

Substantial clinical progress over the last decades has made Hodgkin's lymphoma into one of the most curable human cancers in adults. About 80% of patients in all stages and of all histologic subtypes experience long-term disease-free survival. Modern treatment strategies aim to improve chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while minimizing therapy-related toxicities. Ongoing trials investigate a reduction of chemotherapy doses or cycles and the application of lower radiation doses and smaller radiation field sizes. For patients with a specific high-risk profile, novel approaches with more intense drug combinations are currently being investigated in clinical trials. This review discusses recent approaches to the first-line treatment of early-favorable, early-unfavorable, and advanced-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma.