Hodgkins lymphoma: treatment and prognosis

Supported in part by a grant provided by “IASIS” a non-profit organization raising funds for Research in Leukemias, Lymphomas and related disorders come. AAS I/IIA are definitely non-advanced for most study groups. Non-advanced stages are further classified as “early” or “early favourable” and “intermediate” or “early unfavourable” according to the presence of adverse features. Table 1 summarizes the variability of early, intermediate and advanced stage definitions as used various investigational groups. The classification of AAS IIB is controversial, being non-advanced according to the EORTC definition or advanced according to British and Italian definitions. According to the German Hodgkin study Group (GHSG) AAS IIB is classified in the advanced stages only in the presence of extranodal extension or mediastinal bulky disease. The remaining patients belong to the intermediate stages, except of few patients without adverse features, who belong to the early stages. AAS III/IV are generally classified as advanced. Only the GHSG includes a small minority (~5%) of AAS IIIA patients without risk factors as non-advanced disease.