Main Session
Sep 30
PQA 09 - Hematologic Malignancies, Health Services Research, Digital Health Innovation and Informatics

3677 - Outcomes in Proton Therapy Use for Pediatric Patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma

04:00pm - 05:00pm PT
Hall F
Screen: 30
POSTER

Presenter(s)

Raymond Mailhot Vega, MD, MPH - University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL

D. N. Martir1, D. J. Indelicato2, A. Bechtel3, M. Bansal3, W. Slayton4, J. B. Dean5, C. G. Morris1, N. P. Mendenhall1, and R. Mailhot Vega1; 1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, 2Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 3Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Nemours Children's Health, Jacksonville, FL, 4Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, 5Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg, FL

Purpose/Objective(s): Hodgkin lymphoma is associated with favorable prognosis and high overall survival. Proton therapy (PT) represents a radiation modality particularly recommended for young patients due to its reduction in exit dose, with a goal to minimize late effects. We investigated the outcomes of patients receiving chemotherapy followed by consolidative PT for classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) at initial diagnosis or relapse/refractory (R/R) disease.

Materials/Methods: We conducted a single-institution retrospective analysis of patients with cHL treated with consolidative PT from October 2007 to December 2022. Patients aged 0–22 years, enrolled in IRB-approved outcomes tracking protocols or registry studies, who received consolidative radiation therapy (RT) at initial diagnosis or R/R disease were included. Overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Crude cumulative incidence estimates were used to describe failure patterns.

Results: Seventy-four patients of 78 eligible were included, with 61 (82%) treated at initial diagnosis and 13 (18%) receiving RT for R/R disease. Median follow-up was 5.3 years. The median age at diagnosis was 16 years (range, 6.3–21.7), with most being female (58%) and having nodular sclerosing subtype (82%). Stage distribution: I (3%), II (58%), III (19%), IV (20%); 49% had B symptoms, and 78% had bulky disease. Risk group distribution is as follows: adult early favorable (2.7%), adult early unfavorable (9.5%), adult advanced (2.7%), COG low-risk (5.4%), COG intermediate-risk (37.8%), COG high–risk (39.2%), and EURONET TG3 (2.7%). Mid-treatment PET/CT showed a complete response in 52% of patients. The median total radiation dose was 33 GyRBE (range,15–39.6 GyRBE), with 47% receiving a boost. No late grade 3 radiation-related toxicities were observed. The 5-year OS was 96% overall, 97% for patients treated at initial diagnosis, and 92% for those treated at R/R disease. The 5-year RFS was 88% overall, 87% for initial diagnosis, and 92% for R/R disease. Of the 61 patients treated for initial diagnosis, a total of eight experienced relapse with four (6.6%) out-of-field & in-field, 3 (4.9%) out-of-field, and one (1.6%) in-field. Of the 13 patients treated for R/R disease, one experienced an out-of-field recurrence.

Conclusion: Consolidative PT following chemotherapy is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for pediatric and young adult patients with cHL, demonstrating excellent 5-year OS and RFS, particularly in those treated at initial diagnosis. The absence of grade 3 radiation-related toxicities highlights the favorable safety profile of PT. These findings support PT as a consolidative treatment modality in this population, warranting further studies to assess long-term outcomes and late toxicities.