Radiation therapy as a component of high-dose salvage strategies in Hodgkin's disease

The expected event-free survival for patients undergoing high-dose salvage therapy for Hodgkin's disease is 40%-60%. Three-quarters of these patients will relapse in prior sites of disease. Radiation therapy is a very effecti ve local-regional modality in Hodgkin's disease. It is possible that the ju dicious use of radiation can improve the event-free survival of high-dose s alvage programs. Retrospective analysis supports this concept, but the rati onale should be incorporated and tested in prospective clinical trials.