[Late recurrence of Hodgkin's disease 20 years after initial diagnosis. Personal observation of two cases and a literature review].

Most patients with Hodgkin's disease (especially early stage disease) are successfully treated using modern treatment modalities. Disease relapse usually occurs within the first three years after initial therapy. Late relapses of Hodgkin's disease, occurring after 10 years or even later, are rare (0.6% of cases only). Their biological behaviour is different from that of early relapses, resembling primary disease. The question whether very late relapses represent a second primary disease in patients with a genetic predisposition to Hodgkin's disease rather than a relapse of the original disease remains the subject of much discussion. We report here two cases of very late relapses of Hodgkin's disease, occurring twenty years after initial treatment. Both patients were now treated by intensified chemotherapy, escalated BEACOPP. In one case, this was followed by radiotherapy of the residual tumor (40 Gy). Both patients are in complete remission.