[Late treatment related complications of Hodgkin's disease]

Abstract

Patients cured of Hodgkin's disease are at high risk for developing late treatment-related complications. Radiation therapy is responsible for non malignant complications such as pulmonary, digestive, thyroid and cardiac toxicity. Chemotherapy is mainly responsible for pulmonary toxicity and gonadal dysfunction in females and in males, whatever the age at treatment. Hodgkin's disease therapy may also result in secondary malignancy which is considered the most serious complication. White the use of non leukaemogenic chemotherapy can limit the incidence of secondary leukaemia, that of secondary solid tumours is still increasing, being 15% after 20 years. Altogether, malignant and non malignant complications are still responsible for a non negligible overmortality.