Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma in Iran; survival and outcome

Abstract

Background: Staging has an important role in both defining the prognosis of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and choosing the best treatment protocol. This study was designed to evaluate the features of HL and estimate the survival rate in patients referred to MAHAK’s Pediatric Cancer Treatment and Research Center (MPCTRC) for continuing their treatment or as a new pediatric case of cancer. Materials and methods: 119 patients <19 years of age diagnosed with HL at MPCTRC from 2008 to 2018 were enrolled. Staging, demographic findings, treatment protocols and outcomes were studied and analyzed for possible correlation between various parameters. Results: In our study, the mean age of patients was 10.2 years (SD±3.5), and included 65.5% (n = 78) male and 34.5% (n = 41) female patients. Fifty-eight percent of patients were treated with ABVD protocol and 38.7% with Hybrid routine protocol. There was a significant association between coughing as a symptom and high stage of the disease (p = 0.044). The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) rate for patients were 65% and 93.8% respectively. Bone marrow transplantation (p < 0.001), stage of the disease (p = 0.001) and treatment protocol (p = 0.034) had direct impact on OS. Conclusion: Treatment modalities based on staging is important for improving outcomes in HL. In the limited settings, ABVD and other treatment protocols supplemented with BMT in relapsed cases is associated with good outcomes.

Keywords

• Hodgkin lymphoma
• Overall survival
• Event-free survival
• Childhood