There are treatments for all patients with Hodgkin's disease. The three main types of treatment are:

• Radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors)
• Chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors).
• Bone marrow and peripheral blood transplants - transplants (actually high dose chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy with a "rescue" of the immune system) are being used for certain patients, especially with recurrent disease.

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiotherapy for Childhood Hodgkin's is described in detail on the Childhood Lymphoma Radiotherapy Page. Many studies in the last few years show that chemotherapy may be a preferred treatment over radiotherapy.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Chemotherapy for Childhood Hodgkin's is described in detail on the Childhood Hodgkin's Chemotherapy Page.

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) are newer types of treatment. Sometimes Hodgkin's disease becomes resistant to treatment with radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Very high doses of chemotherapy may then be used to treat the cancer. Transplant information may be found on the Childhood Lymphoma Transplant Page.

Clinical trials are used to gauge therapy effectiveness and for those who wish to help researchers test new therapies. The US National Cancer Institute recommends all children be generally considered for clinical trials and be cared for by a multidisciplinary team of pediatric oncologists.

NCI suggests that while Hodgkin's lymphoma occurs in various age groups, children with the disease should be treated in multidisciplinary pediatric oncology institutions with experience treating children with cancer. The problems that arise in treatment and follow-up of childhood Hodgkin's lymphoma can differ from those in adults, and pediatric specialty care can best deal with these problems. Talk to your doctor about the location that might best treat your child.

Support Groups

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Resources

Further Reading / In-Depth

• US National Cancer Institute

• • Treatment - General Information
  
• • Childhood Hodgkin's Lymphoma
  

• • Patient & Health Professional
  

• Lymphoma - MedlinePlus - US National Institutes of Health
• How Is Hodgkin (sic) Disease in Children Treated? - ACS
• Pediatric Lymphoma Treatment - Abstracts from ASCO
• Childhood Hodgkin's Treatment - People Living With Cancer (ASCO)
• Hodgkin's Disease, Peter M. Mauch (Editor), James O. Armitage (Editor), Volker Diehl (Editor), June 1999.

• • Section V: Treatment Principles and Techniques
  
• • Chapter 30: Pediatric Hodgkin's Disease
  

Radiotherapy

• All Hodgkin's radiotherapy information can now be found on the Childhood Lymphoma Radiotherapy Page.

Chemotherapy

• All chemotherapy information can now be found on the Childhood Hodgkin's Chemotherapy Page.

Bone Marrow and Peripheral Blood Cell Information

• Transplant information can now be found on the Childhood Lymphoma Transplant Page
• The general Bone Marrow / Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant Resource Page has more transplant information

Blood Work

• Information on Blood Counts
• General Information on Blood Tests from NLM

Supportive Care Information

• Supportive Care Information from NCI.

Biological Therapies

• Immunotherapy, in use in adults for the last 5 years, is in limited trials for children. You can learn more about the adult immunotherapy options to see what the field is about. You should check with your medical team and with the clinical trials available in your country if this field interests you.

Clinical Trials

• See the new page on Clinical Trials

References

• Hodgkin's Disease Peter M. Mauch (Editor), James O. Armitage (Editor), Volker Diehl (Editor) Hardcover / Published June 1999. Chapter 30 is on Pediatric Hodgkin's.
• Abstract: The management of Hodgkin disease in the young child. Schwartz CL., Curr Opin Pediatr. 2003 Feb;15(1):1-2. (Pubmed - links to full article)
• Abstract: Treatment of childhood Hodgkin's disease without radiotherapy. van den Berg H et al., Ann Oncol. 1997;8 Suppl 1:15-7. (PubMed)

 

Books

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Related Articles

For more information on Childhood Hodgkin's Lymphoma, please see the following pages:

Childhood Lymphoma: Radiotherapy
Childhood Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Chemotherapy
Childhood Lymphoma: Transplants
Childhood Lymphoma: Resources
Lymphoma Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Information Page
Childhood Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Diagnosis
Childhood Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Introduction

Other pages you may want to visit:

Lymphoma Information Network
Adult Hodgkin's Lymphoma Resource Pages