In a nutshell
This study compared adult and pediatric treatment regimens for adolescent and young adult patients with Hodgkin lymphoma. The study concluded that adolescent and young adult patients treated with the pediatric regimen have better outcomes than those treated with the adult regimen.
Some background
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is one of the most common cancers among adolescents and young adults (AYA). AYA patients can be treated with either a pediatric regimen or an adult regimen. Treatment type is usually based on which hospital the patient goes to. Previous studies have suggested that the two treatments lead to similar outcomes. There is no agreement on which type of treatment is better for AYA patients. More research is needed to determine which treatment is superior.
Methods & findings
The medical records of 505 patients were reviewed. 114 patients were treated with an adult regimen. Patients in the adult treatment group received either ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) or Stanford V (doxorubicin, vinblastine, nitrogen mustard, etoposide, vincristine, bleomycin, and prednisone) treatment. 391 patients were treated with a pediatric regimen. Patients in the pediatric treatment group received ABVE-PC (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vincristine and etoposide plus prednisone and cyclophosphamide) treatment. All patients were between the ages of 17 and 21.
The 5-year overall survival rate (time from treatment to death from any cause) for patients in the adult treatment group was 89%. The 5-year overall survival rate for patients in the pediatric treatment group was 97%. The difference was statistically significant.
The bottom line
The authors concluded that adolescent and young adult patients seem to have better outcomes when treated with the pediatric regimen compared to the adult regimen.
Published By :
Cancer
Date :
Sep 13, 2017
