Question: What are the treatments for Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma ?
Answer: Key Points
- There are different types of treatment for children with Hodgkin lymphoma. - Children with Hodgkin lymphoma should have their treatment planned by a team of health care providers who are experts in treating childhood cancer. - Children and adolescents may have treatment-related side effects that appear months or years after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma. - Five types of standard treatment are used: - Chemotherapy - Radiation therapy - Targeted therapy - Surgery - High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant - New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials. - Proton beam radiation therapy - Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. - Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment. - Follow-up tests may be needed.
There are different types of treatment for children with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Different types of treatment are available for children with Hodgkin lymphoma. Some treatments are standard and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Because cancer in children is rare, taking part in a clinical trial should be considered. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Children with Hodgkin lymphoma should have their treatment planned by a team of health care providers who are experts in treating childhood cancer.
Treatment will be overseen by a pediatric oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating children with cancer. The pediatric oncologist works with other pediatric health care providers who are experts in treating children with Hodgkin lymphoma and who specialize in certain areas of medicine. These may include the following specialists: - Pediatrician. - Medical oncologist /hematologist. - Pediatric surgeon. - Radiation oncologist. - Endocrinologist. - Pediatric nurse specialist. - Rehabilitation specialist. - Psychologist. - Social worker. - Child-life specialist. The treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma in adolescents and young adults may be different than the treatment for children. Some adolescents and young adults are treated with an adult treatment regimen.
Children and adolescents may have treatment-related side effects that appear months or years after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma.
Some cancer treatments cause side effects that continue or appear months or years after cancer treatment has ended. These are called late effects. Because late effects affect health and development, regular follow-up exams are important. Late effects of cancer treatment may include: - Physical problems that affect the following: - Development of sex and reproductive organs. - Fertility (ability to have children). - Bone and muscle growth and development. - Thyroid, heart, or lung function. - Teeth, gums, and salivary gland function. - Spleen function (increased risk of infection). - Changes in mood, feelings, thinking, learning, or memory. - Second cancers (new types of cancer). For female survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma, there is an increased risk of breast cancer. This risk depends on the amount of radiation therapy they received to the breast during treatment and the chemotherapy regimen used. The risk of breast cancer is decreased if these female survivors also received radiation therapy to the ovaries. It is suggested that female survivors who received radiation therapy to the breast have a mammogram once a year starting 8 years after treatment or at age 25 years, whichever is later. Female survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma who have breast cancer have an increased risk of dying from the disease compared to patients with no history of Hodgkin lymphoma who have breast cancer. Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the possible late effects caused by some treatments. (See the PDQ summary on Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer for more information).
Five types of standard treatment are used:
Chemotherapy Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, an organ, or a body cavity such as the abdomen, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). Combination chemotherapy is treatment using more than one anticancer drug. The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the risk group. For example, children with low-risk Hodgkin lymphoma receive fewer cycles of treatment, fewer anticancer drugs, and lower doses of anticancer drugs than children with high-risk lymphoma. See Drugs Approved for Hodgkin Lymphoma for more information. Radiation therapy Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. There are two types of radiation therapy: - External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Certain ways of giving radiation therapy can help keep radiation from damaging nearby healthy tissue. These types of external radiation therapy include the following: - Conformal radiation therapy: Conformal radiation therapy is a type of external radiation therapy that uses a computer to make a 3-dimensional (3-D) picture of the tumor and shapes the radiation beams to fit the tumor. - Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): IMRT is a type of 3-dimensional (3-D) radiation therapy that uses a computer to make pictures of the size and shape of the tumor. Thin beams of radiation of different intensities (strengths) are aimed at the tumor from many angles. - Internal radiation therapy uses a radioactive substance sealed in needles, seeds, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into or near the cancer. Radiation therapy may be given, based on the childs risk group and chemotherapy regimen. External radiation therapy is used to treat childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. The radiation is given only to the lymph nodes or other areas with cancer. Internal radiation therapy is not used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma. Targeted therapy Targeted therapy is a type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific cancer cells without harming normal cells. Monoclonal antibody therapy and proteasome inhibitor therapy are being used in the treatment of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. Monoclonal antibody therapy is a cancer treatment that uses antibodies made in the laboratory from a single type of immune system cell. These antibodies can identify substances on cancer cells or normal substances that may help cancer cells grow. The antibodies attach to the substances and kill the cancer cells, block their growth, or keep them from spreading. Monoclonal antibodies are given by infusion. They may be used alone or to carry drugs, toxins, or radioactive material directly to cancer cells. In children, rituximab may be used to treat refractory or recurrent Hodgkin lymphoma. Brentuximab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, and atezolizumab are monoclonal antibodies being studied to treat children. Proteasome inhibitor therapy is a type of targeted therapy that blocks the action of proteasomes (proteins that remove other proteins the body no longer needs) in cancer cells and may prevent the growth of tumors. Bortezomib is a proteasome inhibitor used to treat refractory or recurrent childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. Surgery Surgery may be done to remove as much of the tumor as possible for localized nodular lymphocyte -predominant childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant is a way of giving high doses of chemotherapy and replacing blood -forming cells destroyed by the cancer treatment. Stem cells (immature blood cells) are removed from the blood or bone marrow of the patient or a donor and are frozen and stored. After the chemotherapy is completed, the stored stem cells are thawed and given back to the patient through an infusion. These reinfused stem cells grow into (and restore) the body's blood cells. See Drugs Approved for Hodgkin Lymphoma for more information.
New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
This summary section describes treatments that are being studied in clinical trials. It may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website. Proton beam radiation therapy Proton-beam therapy is a type of high-energy, external radiation therapy that uses streams of protons (small, positively-charged particles of matter) to make radiation. This type of radiation therapy may help lessen the damage to healthy tissue near the tumor.
Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment. Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment. Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.
Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.
Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment. Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. See the Treatment Options section that follows for links to current treatment clinical trials. These have been retrieved from NCI's listing of clinical trials.
Follow-up tests may be needed.
Some of the tests that were done to diagnose the cancer or to find out the stage of the cancer may be repeated. Some tests will be repeated in order to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests. Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your child's condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back). These tests are sometimes called follow-up tests or check-ups. For patients who receive chemotherapy alone, a PET scan may be done 3 weeks or more after treatment ends. For patients who receive radiation therapy last, a PET scan should not be done until 8 to 12 weeks after treatment.
Treatment Options for Children and Adolescents with Hodgkin Lymphoma
Low-Risk Classical Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma
Treatment of low-risk classical childhood Hodgkin lymphoma may include the following: - Combination chemotherapy. - Radiation therapy may also be given to the areas with cancer. Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I childhood Hodgkin lymphoma and stage II childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your child's doctor about clinical trials that may be right for your child. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.
Intermediate-Risk Classical Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma
Treatment of intermediate-risk classical childhood Hodgkin lymphoma may include the following: - Combination chemotherapy. - Radiation therapy may also be given to the areas with cancer. Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I childhood Hodgkin lymphoma, stage II childhood Hodgkin lymphoma, stage III childhood Hodgkin lymphoma and stage IV childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your child's doctor about clinical trials that may be right for your child. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.
High-Risk Classical Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma
Treatment of high-risk classical childhood Hodgkin lymphoma may include the following: - Higher dose combination chemotherapy. - Radiation therapy may also be given to the areas with cancer. - A clinical trial of targeted therapy and combination chemotherapy. Radiation therapy may also be given to the areas with cancer. Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage III childhood Hodgkin lymphoma and stage IV childhood Hodgkin lymphoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your child's doctor about clinical trials that may be right for your child. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.
Nodular Lymphocyte-Predominant Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma
Treatment of nodular lymphocyte-predominant childhood Hodgkin lymphoma may include the following: - Surgery, if the tumor can be completely removed. - Chemotherapy with or without low-dose external radiation therapy. Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with childhood nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your child's doctor about clinical trials that may be right for your child. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.