CHANGING-ROLE OF SURGERY IN CHILDHOOD LYMPHOMAS

The use of combinations of chemo- and radiotherapy have decreased the need for surgical staging of Hodgkin's disease. The goal of decreasing therapy while maintaining cure rates, however, recreates a need for s taging. Attempts are being made to devise criteria to decrease the nee d for surgical staging or to decrease the extent of the procedure. Non -Hodgkin's lymphoma requires adequate tissue samples for analysis, for example, for immunophenotyping to determine treatment. Surgical resec tion in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is inadequate for treatment but may be helpful. Debulking, however, is no longer recommended. (C) 1993 Wiley- Liss, Inc.