Long-term survivorship at a price: late-term, therapy-associated toxicities in the adult Hodgkin lymphoma patient

Abstract

There have been an increasing number of survivors of successful treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) over the past 30 years. Although these survivors may be cured of their HL, long-term morbidity and mortality are associated with late toxicities of treatment. Identification of these late complications will lead to strategies to manage them when they occur and hopefully to decrease the risk of their development. Second malignancies followed by cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of late morbidity and mortality. Musculoskeletal difficulties, endocrine abnormalities including sterility and thyroid disease, heart and lung damage, persistent fatigue and psychosocial distress have also been seen. The subjects of this review are the late complications of primary treatment of HL and autologous stem cell transplantation, usually for relapsed disease.