[Therapy of Hodgkin's disease]

Hodgkin's disease has become the prototype of a curable neoplastic condition. In localized disease (stages I and II) cure can be achieved with radiotherapy alone unless B-symptoms are present. In case of B-symptoms or generalized disease (stages III and IV) the administration of polychemotherapy is mandatory. In advanced stages combinations of the non-cross-resistant regimens MOPP and ABVD seem to be the most effective. In patients relapsing from the MOPP/ABVD or MOPP/ABV regimen salvage chemotherapy offers a chance of remission but not cure. Such patients, in particular those with a short first remission, are candidates for autologous stem cell transplantation which can still induce durable remissions in a subset of patients. Considering the long term complications such as infertility and the development of secondary neoplasms one has to carefully balance the benefits against the potential risks of the initial treatment approach.