Unipd at the forefront of international research on Hodgkin lymphoma

The University has conducted a study presenting the longest follow-up ever published for a PET-guided therapeutic strategy (positron emission tomography, which makes it possible to identify tumours and monitor them during treatment) in patients with advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

With more than 11 years of observation, the research shows that personalising treatment intensity on the basis of PET performed after the first two cycles of chemotherapy makes it possible to achieve lasting disease control while minimising long-term side effects.

The results show that overall survival in the entire patient population reached 94%.

Moreover, thanks to an overall follow-up of more than 10 years, the study documents a low incidence of second neoplasms (3.6%) and cardiovascular events (2.1%), filling one of the main gaps in the literature on the long-term safety of PET-guided therapeutic strategies.

The hematologists Andrea Visentin, Dr Alessandro Cellini and Prof. Livio Trentin, director of the Hematology Unit at the Azienda Ospedale-Università di Padova, played a leading role in the international study coordinated by Andrea Gallamini of the Lacassagne Cancer Center in Nice, the results of which were published in the prestigious international journal “eClinicalMedicine” (The Lancet Discovery Science).

“Hodgkin lymphoma frequently affects people between the ages of 20 and 40 – explains Visentin, from the Department of Medicine at the University of Padua and first author of the research. Our study confirms that the PET-guided strategy makes it possible to intensify treatment only in the 15–20% of patients who genuinely need it, avoiding more aggressive therapies in most cases and thus limiting toxicity without compromising efficacy.”

“These results consolidate the role of PET-adapted therapy as a benchmark for the treatment of advanced Hodgkin lymphoma and also highlight its value in countries where the most innovative drugs are not yet readily available, offering a personalised medicine strategy that is effective, safe and sustainable,” concludes Trentin.