How I treat relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma

Relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma is a challenging problem for clinicians who treat hematologic malignancies. The standard management of these patients should include the use of salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) in patients who are chemotherapy sensitive. Open issues in this area include the role of functional imaging, the specific chemotherapy regimen to be used before ASCT, and the role of consolidative radiotherapy. Some patients will not be eligible for ASCT, and alternative approaches with conventional chemotherapy alone or with salvage radiotherapy should be considered. Prognostic factors for relapsed/refractory disease have been identified but generally are not used as a part of risk-adapted therapy. Allogeneic transplantation may offer the potential of a graft-versus-lymphoma effect, but this therapy has significant toxicity and results in few long-term disease-free survivors; hence, it should only be offered in the context of disease-specific clinical trials. An expanding list of novel drugs has exhibited promising single-agent activity. Patients have effective options beyond primary therapy, and continued progress through controlled trials remains a tangible goal in the treatment of relapsed and refractory disease.