Lung malignancies after Hodgkin lymphoma: disease characteristics, detection methods and clinical outcome

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors have an increased risk of secondary malignancies. We analyzed outcomes in patients with lung cancers following HL treatment. Cases of thoracic malignancies were retrospectively identified from a multi-institutional database of 1976 patients treated for HL from 1969 to 2007. Data regarding risk factors, disease characteristics and outcomes were obtained from medical records. Lung malignancies were identified in 55 patients a median of 19.5 years after initial HL therapy. Thirty-one patients (56%) had a > 10 pack-year history of tobacco use, 48 (87%) received thoracic irradiation and 26 (47%) received alkylating chemotherapy. Of the 42 patients with known stage at lung cancer diagnosis, 23 (55%) were stage IV and 5 (12%) were stage III. The method of lung cancer detection was known for 35 patients; of these, 12 (34%) were detected incidentally. Median survival time after diagnosis was 10 months for all 55 patients. Median survival time for patients with incidentally detected tumors has not been reached with a median follow-up of 39 months. Lung malignancies diagnosed in patients successfully treated for HL generally have a dismal prognosis. However, a subset of patients diagnosed incidentally may have potentially curable disease.