CONSOLIDATION RADIOTHERAPY COULD BE OMITTED IN ADVANCED HODGKIN LYMPHOMA WITH LARGE NODAL MASS IN COMPLETE METABOLIC RESPONSE AFTER ABVD. FINAL ANALYSIS OF THE RANDOMIZED HD0607 TRIAL

Consolidation Radiotherapy Could Be Safely Omitted in Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma With Large Nodal Mass in Complete Metabolic Response After ABVD: Final Analysis of the Randomized GITIL/FIL HD0607 Trial

PURPOSE

To investigate the role of consolidation radiotherapy (cRT) in advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) presenting at baseline with a large nodal mass (LNM) in complete metabolic response after doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) chemotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Advanced-stage (IIB-IVB) HL patients, enrolled in the HD 0607 trial (Clinicaltrial.gov identifier NCT00795613), with both a negative PET after two (PET-2) and six (PET-6) ABVD cycles, who presented at baseline with an LNM, defined as a nodal mass with the largest diameter ≥ 5 cm, were prospectively randomly assigned to receive cRT over the LNM or no further treatment (NFT).

RESULTS

Among 296 randomly assigned patients, the largest diameter of LNM at baseline was 5-7 cm in 101 (34%; subgroup A) and 8-10 cm in 96 (32%; subgroup B), whereas classic bulky (diameter > 10 cm) was detected in 99 (33%; subgroup C). Two hundred eighty patients (88%) showed a postchemotherapy RM. The median dose of cRT was 30.6 Gy (range, 24-36 Gy). After a median follow-up of 5.9 years (range, 0.5-10 years), the 6-year progression-free survival rate of patients who underwent cRT or NFT was, respectively, 91% (95% CI, 84% to 99%) and 95% (95% CI, 89% to 100%; P = .62) in subgroup A; 98% (95% CI, 93% to 100%) and 90% (95% CI, 80% to 100%; P = .24) in subgroup B; 89% (95% CI, 81% to 98%) and 86% (95% CI, 77% to 96%; P = .53) in subgroup C (classic bulky).

CONCLUSION

cRT could be safely omitted in patients with HL presenting with an LNM and a negative PET-2 and PET-6 scan, irrespective from the LNM size detected at baseline.

FDG-PET Imaging for Hodgkin and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma-An Updated Overview

Since the mid-1990s, 18F-fluorodeoxglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) in combination with computed tomography has come to play a prominent role in the management of malignant lymphomas. One of the first PET applications in oncology was the detection of lymphoma manifestations at staging, where it has shown high sensitivity. Nowadays, this imaging modality is also used during treatment to evaluate the individual chemosensitivity and adapt further therapy accordingly. If the end-of-treatment PET is negative, irradiation in advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma patients can be safely omitted after highly effective chemotherapy. Thus far, lymphoma response assessment has mainly been performed using visual criteria, such as the Deauville five-point scale, which became the international standard in 2014. However, novel measures such as metabolic tumor volume or total lesion glycolysis have recently been recognized by several working groups and may further increase the diagnostic and prognostic value of FDG-PET in the future.