Transplant-Free Salvage Therapy for Low-Risk Relapsed Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial

Hoppe BS, Milgrom SA, Renfro LA, Wu Y, Schwartz CL, Constine LS, McCarten KM, Kelly KM, Hodgson D, Castellino SM, Keller FG. Transplant-Free Salvage Therapy for Low-Risk Relapsed Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2025 Mar 1;11(3):340-342. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2024.5648. PMID: 39745710; PMCID: PMC11837869.

This nonrandomized clinical trial reports outcomes for children with low-risk relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma treated with second-line chemotherapy and involved-field radiotherapy without autologous stem cell transplant. Second-line chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy (HDT) and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is the standard-of-care treatment for relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Although HDT/ASCT is effective for salvage, it is associated with acute and late morbidity. Herein we report outcomes for pediatric patients with low-risk relapsed HL, treated in the Children’s Oncology Group AHOD0431 trial with second-line chemotherapy and involved-field radiotherapy (IFRT) without ASCT.