PET Response and Outcome in Low-Risk Nodular Lymphocyte-Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma: Children’s Oncology Group Study AHOD03P1

Marks LJ, Wu Y, McCarten KM, Renfro LA, Pei Q, Kelly KM, Schwartz CL, Castellino SM, Appel BE. PET Response and Outcome in Low-Risk Nodular Lymphocyte-Predominant Hodgkin Lymphoma: Children’s Oncology Group Study AHOD03P1. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 May;72(5):e31606. doi: 10.1002/pbc.31606. Epub 2025 Feb 14. PMID: 39953678; PMCID: PMC11934935.

A better understanding of positron emission tomography (PET) response in nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (nLPHL) is critical for incorporating PET into prospective trials. PET scans from Children’s Oncology Group study AHOD03P1 for patients less than 22 years with low-risk nLPHL, treated with three cycles of doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy, were retrospectively reviewed and assigned Deauville 5-point scale (5PS) scores. Five-year post-PET event-free survival was 90.1% (80% CI: 85.2%-93.4%) for PET-negative (5PS 1-3) and 66.7% (80% CI: 36.4%-85.0%) for PET-positive (5PS 4-5) patients. PET response after three cycles of low-dose chemotherapy is predictive of relapse risk for low-risk nLPHL.