Malignant Lymphomas (including Myeloproliferative Disorders)

Abstract

This chapter deals with the radiotherapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy of the malignant lymphomas. Included within this group are Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, mycosis fungoides, and chronic lymphatic leukaemia. A further section deals with the myeloproliferative disorders, including granulocytic leukaemia, polycythaemia rubra vera, and primary thrombocythaemia. Excluded are myeloma and reticulum cell sarcoma of bone, which are dealt with in Chap. 15, and acute leukaemia, which is discussed in Chap. 16. With regard to Hodgkin’s disease, the past 30 years have seen general recognition of the curative potential of radiotherapy at least in the local stages, and, more recently, awareness of the ability to achieve long-term survival after combination chemotherapy in generalised or in recurrent disease. At the same time the importance of staging has become appreciated and the introduction of procedures such as lymphography, staging laparotomy, and computerised tomography (CT) has enormously increased its reliability. Advances have not been so dramatic in the complex group of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, but are still very real.