Late relapses in Hodgkin lymphoma: a clinical and immunohistochemistry study.

Survival in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) has significantly increased, and most relapses occur in the first 2 years. We analyzed the proportion of relapses occurring after 5 years, the method of detection, and survival in the database of patients with HL in our hospital (1967-2005). We undertook a retrospective study of clinical and molecular characteristics with the use of 12 different antibodies (Abs): CD30, CD15, CD20, CD3, BCL-2, BCL-6, CD57, EMA, p53, Ki-67, Aurora kinase A, and PAX-5. We studied 534 patients with HD and found 150 relapses (28%), 30 of which occurred 5 years after the end of treatment. The relapses were detected during a scheduled appointment in 16 (54%) asymptomatic patients. Seven of 30 patients relapsed with a different histological type. There were no statistically significant differences in survival between those patients with a late relapse and new remission and those who never relapsed. None of the molecular markers were associated with relapse. Long-term survival was not significantly different in relapsed patients with remission after treatment compared with patients who never relapsed. We need to maintain active follow-up in order to detect late and recoverable relapses.