Survival Pattern of Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients in the Last 25 Years in Lebanon.

CONTEXT: After the emergence of combination chemotherapy in 1960s, survival of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has dramatically improved worldwide. We lack studies that document the favorable evolution of survival regarding this disease in Lebanon.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the overall survival in HL over 3 different decades in Lebanon.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 196 patients diagnosed with HL, treated and followed from 1990 to 2015 in our center. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to period of analysis: group A (1990-1999), group B (2000-2009), and group C (2010-2015). We studied the characteristics and survival patterns of patients in each group.

RESULTS: The male-to-female sex ratio was 1.06. The median age at diagnosis was 33 years in group A, 30.4 in group B, and 33.12 in group C (P = .6). Results showed variations in the subtypes of the disease according to the following: nodular-sclerosis HL 59.5% in group A, 76.2% in group B, and 85.4% in group C. Mixed cellularity HL 21.6% in group A, 2.4% in group B, and 73.7% in group C (P = .0001). Patients presented with localized disease in 58.6%, 73.7%, and 56.4% in groups A, B, and C, respectively (P = .173). Complete remission was achieved in 76.5% in group A, 85.3% in group B, and 69.5% in group C (P = .007). The survival rate at 5 years in group A was 91%, 94% in group B, and 100% in group C.

CONCLUSION: The survival of patients with HL has dramatically improved over the past 25 years in Lebanon. These results resemble those achieved in Western countries due to the fast adoption of new molecular imaging technologies at diagnosis and follow-up and the rapid approval of new drugs for relapse in the Lebanese market.