Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms in patients treated for hodgkin lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a malignancy of the lymphatic system with an incidence of 2-3/100.000/year in developed countries. With modern multi-agent chemotherapy protocols optionally combined with radiotherapy (RT), 80% to 90% of HL patients achieve long-term remission and can be considered cured. However, current standard approaches bear a considerable risk for the development of treatment-related late effects. Thus, one major focus of current clinical research in HL is reducing the incidence of these late effects that include heart failure, infertility, chronic fatigue and therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia (t-MDS/t-AML). In previous analyses, t-MDS/t-AML after treatment for HL was associated with a poor prognosis. Nearly all patients died rapidly after diagnosis. However, more recent analyses indicated an improved outcome among patients with t-MDS/t-AML who are eligible for modern anti-leukemic treatment and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (aSCT). This article gives an overview of recent reports on the incidence and the treatment of t-MDS/t-AML after HL therapy and describes the efforts currently made to reduce the risk to develop this severe late effect.