Pathologic stage I and II Hodgkin's disease, 1968--1975: relapse and results of retreatment.

Sixty-seven previously untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease, pathologic stages I and II, seen during a 7-year period were evaluted with respect to initial staging and treatment, as well as relapse and retreatment results. The initial treatment consisted of radiation therapy (RT) to an involved field (IF) or an extended field (EF) for patients with stages IA and IIA, or RT and, in recent cases, combination chemotherapy [cyclophosphamide, Oncovin, procarbazine, and prednisone (COPP)] for patients with stages IB and IIB. Nineteen of the 67 patients relapsed (28%), including 11 of 56 patients with stages IA and IIA (20%) and 8 of 11 patients with stages IB and IIB (73%). Seventeen of the 19 relapses occurred within 24 months after completion of the initial therapy (89%). The relapse-free survival at 5 years was 75% for the A patients and 25% for the B patients. The actuarial survival of stage IA and stage IIA patients at 5 years was 91%; there was no significant difference between patients treated initially with either IF or EF. The actuarial survival at 5 years for the patients with stages IB and IIB was 88%, as most responded to a second program of induction therapy. No correlation could be found between the pattern of relapse and the initial pathologic stage or the mode of treatment.