Complications in the management of the malignant lymphomas (Report no 15)

This report reviews the common complications associated with the investigation and treatment of the lymphomas and enumerates the complications recorded so far in the 1410 patients with Hodgkin's disease registered in the British National Lymphoma Investigation. Long-term follow-up of these patients will allow a better understanding of the overall risks of splenectomy. The incidence of leukaemia and other lymphomas in the group of patients studied in the BNLI is extremely low. Two patients developed non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, one having had radiotherapy alone and the other MOPP alone. Two patients developed acute myeloid leukaemia, one after mantle radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy and one after MOPP alone. A fifth patient treated with MOPP alone developed a rapidly fatal acute lymphatic leukaemia three years later. This low incidence of second malignancies may be related to the relatively non-aggressive treatment schedules utilised by the BNLI.