Treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma is based on the stage of the disease, as well as the patient’s age, general health, and the type and site of the cancer. A cancer care team, usually headed by a medical oncologist, may coordinate the patient’s treatment. In the early stages, cases may be classified as favorable or unfavorable depending on certain factors. These factors can include the presence of a large tumor in the chest, the patient's age, or whether the cancer has spread outside the lymph nodes or to other regions of within lymph nodes.

When Hodgkin’s lymphoma is classified as unfavorable, more intensive treatment is usually recommended. Other factors that may require more intensive treatment include:

• Being male
• Having a high white blood cell count (above 15,000)
• Having a low red blood cell count (hemoglobin level below 10.5).
• Having a low blood lymphocyte count (below 600).

The two main methods used to treat Hodgkin’s lymphoma are chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The best treatment approach may require one or both of these methods.

• Chemotherapy. This treatment method uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells. The standard drug combination used to treat Hodgkin’s disease in the United States is known as ABVD.  This combination includes:
  
  
• • Adriamycin
  • Bleomycin
  • Vinblastine
  • Dacarbazine

Other commonly used combinations include:

• • BEACOPP
    
  • • Bleomycin
    • Etoposide
    • Adriamycin
    • Cyclophosphamide
    • Oncovin
    • Procarbazine
    • Prednisone
      
      
  • Stanford V
    
  • • Doxorubicin
    • Mechlorethamine
    • Vincristine
    • Vinblastine
    • Bleomycin
    • Etoposide
    • Prednisone
      
      
• Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is usually treated with external beam radiation, a form of radiation therapy that uses a machine located outside of the body to deliver precise beams of radiation at a targeted area.

For some patients, high-dose chemotherapy with blood-forming stem cell transplants may be recommended. This treatment involves giving the patient very high doses of chemotherapy, followed by an infusion of their own previously collected blood-forming stem cells or stem cells from a matched donor. This treatment method may be recommended for:

• Patients who did not completely respond to standard treatments of chemotherapy and radiation therapy
  
  
• Patients who responded to standard treatment, but whose cancer returned soon after

In the procedure, the stored stem cells are thawed and placed back into the patient through a vein. Within a week or two, the cells begin restoring the body’s blood cells.

Follow-up care is very important after the treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The patient needs to be monitored for many years or decades. The patient’s cancer care team will provide information as to the type and schedule of tests needed following treatment.

One of the most serious side effects of the treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma is developing a second cancer, particularly acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 5 percent of patients receiving certain types of treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma can develop this cancer. It appears more often in older individuals and usually occurs within the first few years after treatment. For this reason, patients should adhere to their designated follow-up medical plan.

Currently there are no established prevention methods for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, advances in diagnosis, staging and treatment methods have helped to make the disease highly treatable with the potential for complete recovery. According to the ACS, the 15-year relative survival rate for all patients after treatment is 68 percent.