Andreas Engert - Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Comprehensive Overview

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Hodgkin lymphoma has become one of the best curable malignancies in both adult and pediatric patients. More than 80% of all patients can be cured with risk-adapted treatment including chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This progress is largely due to the development of multi-agent chemotherapy and the improvements in radiotherapy.

Due to the high cure rate and the young age of most patients affected, Hodgkin lymphoma has also become a model for studying long-term toxicity of radiotherapy and chemotherapy that may impact quality of life and/or survival. Future treatment should continue to balance the need for improving the cure rate while reducing treatment-related side effects. In addition, there are a number of relevant physical and psychosocial issues including infertility and fatigue that need to be further exploited.

Monoclonal antibodies against this antigen were successfully used for diagnostic immunophenotyping and exploited therapeutically. This strategy has come full circle with the advent of the anti-CD30 antibody drug conjugate Brentuximab Vedotin. This drug has shown remarkable responses in relapsed and refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma and is also being used in combination with chemotherapy.

The development of targeted treatment for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma is rapidly evolving. The recent approval of checkpoint inhibitors has added an additional treatment option for patients with relapsed cHL, opening the door for new developments including new combinations of chemotherapy or radiotherapy being evaluated in first line.

This book should give you a comprehensive overview of the most relevant biology, diagnostic and clinical aspects of Hodgkin lymphoma. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who have contributed to this project.