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Treatment outcome in Hodgkin's disease in patients above the age of 60: a population-based study.

All persons in three Swedish counties afflicted with Hodgkin's disease between 1979 and 1988 were traced. The objective was to analyze, in unselected, population-based material, whether an assumed worse prognosis in the elderly could be due to differences in staging procedures, treatment intensity, decreased tolerance to therapy or to a more aggressive disease. After histopathological revision, 163 of 202 patients (autopsy cases excluded) were accepted as HD, 61 (37%) of them above the age of 60. Although staging procedures had been more intense in the young, the elderly patients had a more advanced stage at diagnosis, and tended more often to have B-symptoms. The intensity of staging procedures did not seem to influence survival. The 5-yr relative survival was 37% above and 85% below the age of 60. Radiotherapy was the primary treatment in 12 (20%) above and 41 (41%) below the age of 60 with 5-yr relative survival figures of 84% and 85%, respectively. Thirty-seven patients (61%) above and 61 (59%) below 60 were treated with combination chemotherapy (MOPP/ABVD, MOPP, ChlVPP/OPEC) with curative intent. The 5-yr relative survival was 33% and 86%, respectively. The majority of the elderly patients (54%) received less than 40% of the planned chemotherapy dose. The main reason for this pronounced reduction was intolerance to therapy, with 8 treatment-related deaths. We conclude that tolerance to combination chemotherapy in the elderly patients with HD is poor and could be the major reason for poor treatment outcome in this age group.