ABSTRACT
The documented treatment-induced excess mortality in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has spurred important treatment changes over recent decades. This study aimed to examine mortality among young HL patients treated with contemporary strategies, including historical data comparison. This nationwide study included 1348 HL patients, diagnosed in 1995-2015 and aged 15-40 at diagnosis. Among the patients, 66.5% had Ann Arbor stage I-II and 33.5% had stage III-IV disease. With a median follow-up of 14.76 years, 139 deaths occurred, yielding a 5-year overall survival of 94.6%. Older age, advanced disease, earlier treatment periods and extensive regimens were associated with higher overall mortality risk. The cumulative risk of HL-related death showed an initial sharp rise, with a plateau at 5.3% 10-year post-diagnosis. Deaths due to cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases and second cancers initially had minimal risk, gradually reaching 1.2% and 2.0% at the 20-year mark respectively. HL cases had a 7.5-fold higher mortality hazard than the background population. This study suggests that contemporary HL treatment still poses excess mortality risk, but recent changes have notably reduced overall and cause-specific mortality compared to earlier eras. Balancing treatment efficacy and toxicity remains crucial, but our findings highlight improved outcomes with modern treatment approaches.
ABSTRACT
Studies have shown higher survival rates for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) treated within clinical trials compared to patients treated outside clinical trials. However, endpoints are often limited to overall survival (OS). In this retrospective cohort study, we investigated the effect of trial participation on OS, the incidence of relapse, second cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study population consisted of patients with HL, aged between 14 and 51 years at diagnosis, who started their treatment between 1962 and 2002 at three Dutch cancer centres. Patients were either included in the EORTC Lymphoma Group trials (H1-H9) or treated according to standard guidelines at the time. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics, trial participation was associated with longer OS (median OS: 29.4 years [95%CI: 27.0-31.6] for treatment inside trials versus 27.4 years [95%CI: 26.0-28.5] for treatment outside trials, p = .046), a lower incidence of relapse (HR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.63-0.98, p = .036) and a higher incidence of CVD (HR = 1.49, 95%CI: 1.23-1.79, p < .001). The trial effect for CVD was present only for patients treated before 1983. No evidence of differences in the incidence of second cancer was found. Consequently, essential results from clinical trials should be implemented into standard practice without undue delay.
