New Guidelines for Treating Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma Issued

The International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group has issued a guideline that outlines the use of 3-D computed tomography-based radiation therapy planning and volumetric image guidance to more effectively treat pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma and to reduce the radiation dose to normal tissue, thus decreasing the risk of late side effects. The guideline will be published in the March-April issue of Practical Radiation Oncology, the clinical practice journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Historically, pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma patients were treated with the same chemotherapy and radiation regimens as adults with Hodgkin lymphoma, which potentially exposes their young, still-growing bodies to more treatment than necessary. Previous radiation therapy guidelines for pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma have focused on 2-D imaging and bony landmarks to define dose volumes for radiation therapy treatment, and treated large volumes of normal tissue in part because of uncertainty about which lymph node areas were involved.

Link to the complete article in ScienceDaily:

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