TREATMENT OF HODGKINS-DISEASE - THE SWEDISH NATIONAL CARE PROGRAM EXPERIENCE

Since 1985 a Swedish National Care Programme has provided tailored pri nciples for the diagnosis, staging, treatment and follow-up of patient s with Hodgkin's disease (HD). This report gives the rationale behind the recommendations and presents treatment results for 648 patients di agnosed between 1985 and 1989 after a median follow-up of 70 months. T wo hundred and twenty-nine (35%) patients were over 60 years of age. T reatment results for patients below 60 years of age in early and inter mediate stages were favourable, provided the recommendations were foll owed. In advanced stages, the outcome was inferior in patients with CS IIB bulky disease and stage IVB. The prognosis of elderly patients re mains poor, although it is too early to evaluate any impact of revisio ns made in 1989, The tailored principles, which usually entail less st aging and/or treatment than is generally the case in the early and int ermediate stages, produced favourable results when applied to an unsel ected group of patients with HD. Only minor changes were made in the r ecommendations during the 1994 revision.