Interstitial pneumopathy after mantle field irradiation for Hodgkin's disease

This retrospective analysis was undertaken to determine the incidence of interstitial pneumopathy and the clinical course after mantle field irradiation for Hodgkin's disease focusing on the role of radio- and chemotherapy. 136 patients were evaluable, 40 having received radiotherapy only and 96 patients having received combined radio-chemotherapy. The median follow-up time was 21.5 months. The overall incidence was 19%; 4 patients died of severe interstitial pneumopathy and 3 died of simultaneous severe complications. The radiation dose was correlated with the incidence of interstitial pneumopathy (P = 0.0021).