Involved field radiation therapy for Hodgkin's disease autologous bone marrow transplantation regimens

From 1986 through 1992, involved-field radiation therapy (IF-RT) was administered to 29 of 86 patients with recurrent Hodgkin's disease (HD) who received a high-dose cyclophosphamide/etoposide regimen with autologous bone marrow transplantation (A-BMT). Patients without a significant history of prior RT received total body irradiation (TBI), initially as a single dose 5-7.5 Gy, and subsequently with fractionated TBI (F-TBI) delivering 12 Gy. Previously irradiated patients received a high-dose BCNU regimen instead of TBI. IF-RT was employed selectively, usually for sites of bulky disease (> 5 cm). IF-RT doses were typically 20 Gy at 2 Gy per fraction for TBI patients and 30-40 Gy at 1.8-2.0 Gy per fraction for non-TBI Patients. Fatal complications developed in four patients while second malignancies have developed in two. The region which received IF-RT was the site of first recurrence in only two cases (7%). With a median follow-up of 28 months, the two-year disease-free survival rate was 44%. For the 22 patients treated by either F-TBI or high-dose BCNU, the 2-year disease-free survival rate was 50% with a median follow up of 29 months. Selective use of IF-RT may increase the chances of complete remission and disease free survival in HD patients with a history of bulky disease.