Purpose: To evaluate outcome and assess toxicity of children and adolescents with early-stage, favorable Hodgkin's disease treated with vinblastine, doxorubicin, methotrexate, and prednisone (VAMP) and low-dose, involved-field radiation.
Patients and methods: One hundred ten patients with clinical stages I and II, favorable (nonbulky) Hodgkin's disease were treated with four cycles of VAMP chemotherapy and 15 Gy involved-field radiation for those who achieved a complete response, or 25.5 Gy for those who achieved a partial response to two cycles of VAMP.
Results: With a median follow-up of 5.6 years (range, 1.1 to 10.4 years), the 5-year survival and event-free survival were 99% (lower confidence limit [CL], 97.4%) and 93% (lower CL, 88.6%), respectively. Factors associated with event-free survival of 100% were complete response to two cycles of VAMP and histology other than nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease (NSHD). No serious early or late toxicity has been observed. Patients presenting with clinical stages I and IIA, nonbulky disease involving fewer than three nodal sites have a projected survival and event-free survival of 100% and 97% (lower CL, 93%), respectively, at 5 years.
Conclusion: Risk-adapted, combined-modality therapy using only four cycles of VAMP chemotherapy with 15 to 25.5 Gy of involved-field radiation for patients with early-stage/favorable Hodgkin's disease is highly effective and without demonstrable late effects. These results indicate that pediatric patients with stages I and II favorable Hodgkin's disease can be cured with limited therapy that does not include an alkylating agent, bleomycin, etoposide, or high-dose, extended-field radiation therapy.