Memorial researcher: Hodgkin’s patients need dual therapy

PROVIDENCE – Memorial Hospital’s Dr. Adam Olszewski recently published a study showing that half of Americans with early stage Hodgkin’s lymphoma are not receiving appropriate therapy.

Hodgkin’s lymphoma is very common and also has a high cure rate. When diagnosed at an early point, it can be cured in more than 90 percent of cases when using a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.

But because survivors treated with extensive radiation in the 1960s and 1970s developed an exceptionally high level of breast and lung cancers later in life, some oncologists began omitting radiation therapy.

Olszewski’s study found that, while the decision is complex in certain cases, among the 20,600 cases examined in the study survival rates were enhanced for those who received both chemotherapy and radiation and noted that radiation techniques are significantly improved versus 40 years ago.

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