PET-directed therapy in Hodgkin lymphoma: Ready for prime time?

Advances in chemotherapy and radiation therapy have allowed the vast majority of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma to be cured, but some of these patients develop treatment-related complications, including second malignancies, cardiovascular disease, and thyroid disease. Efforts to decrease exposure of patients to more chemotherapy or radiation therapy than is necessary to cure their disease have led to a trend toward shortened treatment regimens in patients with low-risk disease. Predicting which patients will relapse, and therefore might benefit from a more intense treatment regimen, has been a clinical challenge. PET has emerged as a useful modality in the diagnosis and management of Hodgkin lymphoma, and has been studied as a potential tool to help the oncologist to utilize the optimal chemotherapy and radiation therapy regimen for each patient.