Abstract
Progress in the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is one of the huge successes in modern oncology. According to the stage and presence of risk factors, up to 85-90% of patients achieve long-term remission with life expectancy of 40 years.
New problem to deal with at the moment are the late adverse effects caused by preceeding therapy of HL: cardiotoxicity, secondary neoplasia, lung toxicity, impairement of fertility (azoospermia, amenorhea), impairement of the thyroid function, imunosupression with infectious complications, psychosocial problems. Other complications can occur: impairement of soft tissue (muscles, gastrointestinal organs), bones and neurological disorders.
Current knowledge of late-onset toxicity due to the treatment of HL is based on the observation of patients who were treated by therapeutical methods which are not being used any more.