Fludeoxyglucose F 18-PET/CT Imaging in Assessing Response to Chemotherapy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Stage II, Stage III, or Stage IV Hodgkin Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) meeting the following criteria:

  * Meets current WHO classification criteria (i.e., nodular sclerosis, mixed cellularity, lymphocyte rich, and lymphocyte-depleted)
  * Clinical stage IIB, III, or IV disease OR clinical stage IIA disease with adverse features, including any of the following:

    * Bulk mediastinal disease, defined as maximal transverse diameter of mass \> 0.33 of the internal thoracic diameter at D5/6 interspace on routine chest x-ray
    * Disease outside the mediastinum and lymph node or lymph node mass \> 10 cm in diameter
    * More than two sites of disease
    * Other poor-risk features that require treatment with full course combination chemotherapy
* Newly diagnosed disease
* No CNS or meningeal involvement by lymphoma

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* ECOG performance status 0-3
* Life expectancy \> 3 months
* ANC \> 1,500/mm\^3 (unless there is bone marrow infiltration by lymphoma)
* Platelet count \> 100,000/mm\^3 (unless there is bone marrow infiltration by lymphoma)
* Creatinine \< 150% of upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Bilirubin \< 2.0 times ULN (unless attributed to lymphoma)
* Transaminases \< 2.5 times ULN (unless attributed to lymphoma)
* LVEF ≥ 50% (in patients with a significant history of ischemic heart disease or hypertension)
* Diffusion capacity within 25% of normal predicted value by lung function testing
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* Amenable to the administration of a full course of chemotherapy, according to the investigator
* Must have access to PET/CT scanning
* No poorly controlled diabetes mellitus
* No cardiac contraindication to doxorubicin hydrochloride, including abnormal contractility by ECHO or MUGA
* No neurological contraindication to chemotherapy (e.g., pre-existing neuropathy)
* No other concurrent uncontrolled medical condition
* No other active malignant disease within the past 10 years, except fully excised basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix
* No known positivity for HIV, hepatitis B surface antigen, or hepatitis C

  * Routine testing, in the absence of risk factors, is not required
* No medical or psychiatric condition that compromises the patient's ability to give informed consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* No prior chemotherapy, radiotherapy or other investigational drug for HL