John Kuruvilla, MD, from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre provides an overview of treatment options for persons with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a rare cancer that is usually treated initially with salvage therapy and autologous stem cell transplant. In most cases this treatment can cure the cancer. According to Dr. Kuruvilla, this will cure over 50% of patients. However, there are patients who will be refractory to this treatment or relapse. For relapsed or refractory patients, high-dose chemotherapy, followed by an autologous stem cell transplant, is the standard of care. Dr. Kuruvilla also noted that elderly patients or patients with comorbidities, who are unable to undergo autologous stem cell transplant, are often put into the category of ‘relapsed/refractory’ patients.

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