Splenectomy in Hodgkin's disease: no therapeutic benefit

One hundred twenty-four patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease were treated uniformly with combination chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Splenectomy was not performed in 32 patients due to obvious stage IV disease, a medical contraindication, or patient refusal. Comparison of the splenectomy and nonsplenectomy patients revealed no differences in nadir white blood cell counts, platelet counts, or the total dosages of drugs that were administered. Survival and disease free survival curves with a 5-year median follow up also failed to show any difference in the two groups. Splenectomy does not offer a therapeutic advantage in those patients whose treatment would not be altered by splenic histology.