RT or No RT Following Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Stage III/IV Hodgkin's Disease

RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining radiation therapy with combination chemotherapy may kill more tumor cells. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of radiation therapy with no radiation therapy following chemotherapy in treating patients with stage III or stage IV Hodgkin's disease.

Sex

All

Minimum age

15 Years

Maximum age

70 Years

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically proven clinical or pathological Stage III/IV Hodgkin's disease Pathological Stage IIIAS disease with the spleen as the only site of subdiaphragmatic involvement excluded

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 15 to 70 Performance status: Not specified Life expectancy: No severe limits on life expectancy due to nonmalignant disease Hematopoietic: Not specified Hepatic: Not specified Renal: Not specified Cardiovascular: No severe cardiac disease that would preclude protocol therapy Pulmonary: No severe pulmonary disease that would preclude protocol therapy Other: No severe metabolic or neurologic disease that would preclude protocol therapy No concomitant or previous second malignancy except: Nonmelanomatous skin cancer In situ carcinoma of the cervix

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: No prior therapy

• RESULTAleman BM, Raemaekers JM, Tomisic R, Baaijens MH, Bortolus R, Lybeert ML, van der Maazen RW, Girinsky T, Demeestere G, Lugtenburg P, Lievens Y, de Jong D, Pinna A, Henry-Amar M; European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Lymphoma Group. Involved-field radiotherapy for patients in partial remission after chemotherapy for advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2007 Jan 1;67(1):19-30. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2006.08.041. Epub 2006 Nov 9. PMID 17097834
• RESULTAleman BM, Girinsky T, van der Maazen RW, Strijk S, Meijnders P, Bortolus R, Olofsen-van Acht MJ, Lybeert ML, Lievens Y, Eghbali H, Noordijk EM, Tomsic R, Meerwaldt JH, Poortmans PM, Smit WG, Pinna A, Henry-Amar M, Raemaekers JM; European Organization for Research; Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Lymphoma Group. Quality control of involved-field radiotherapy in patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (EORTC 20884). Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2005 Nov 15;63(4):1184-90. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2005.03.044. Epub 2005 Jun 2. PMID 15936157
• RESULTAleman BMP, Girinsky T, Strijk S, et al.: Quality control of involved-field radiotherapy in patients with advanced stage Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) enrolled on the EORTC trial 20884. [Abstract] Eur J Haematol 73 (Suppl 65): A-A02, 42, 2004.
• RESULTAleman BMP, Raemaekers JMM, Tomsic R, et al.: Radiotherapy in advanced Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients in partial remission (PR) after chemotherapy: detailed results from the EORTC lymphoma group trial no.20884. [Abstract] Eur J Haematol 73 (Suppl 65): A-A01, 42, 2004.
• RESULTAleman BM, Raemaekers JM, Henry-Amar M, et al.: Involved-field radiotherapy in patients with stage III/IV Hodgkin's lymphoma: first results of the randomised EORTC trial # 20884. [Abstract] Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 51(3 suppl 1): A-3, 2, 2001.
• RESULTRaemaekers J, Burgers M, Henry-Amar M, Pinna A, Mandard A, Monfardini S, Hagenbeek A, Breed W, Carde P, Vovk M, van Hoof A, Thomas J, Noordijk E. Patients with stage III/IV Hodgkin's disease in partial remission after MOPP/ABV chemotherapy have excellent prognosis after additional involved-field radiotherapy: interim results from the ongoing EORTC-LCG and GPMC phase III trial. The EORTC Lymphoma Cooperative Group and Groupe Pierre-et-Marie-Curie. Ann Oncol. 1997;8 Suppl 1:111-4.