Female reproductive potential after treatment for Hodgkin's disease.

The probability of maintaining ovarian function, becoming pregnant, and delivering a normal child is important to young women anticipating successful therapy for Hodgkin's disease. In this study, reproductive function was retrospectively examined in 103 women 40 years old or younger who had undergone treatment for Hodgkin's disease with total-lymphoid irradiation (TLI) alone, combination chemotherapy, or combined TLI and chemotherapy. Infertility was directly related to gonadal exposure to therapy and to age at treatment. Twenty women became pregnant after receiving total-nodal irradiation or combination chemotherapy or both. No fetal wastage occurred, and no birth defects were seen in the 24 infants born to these women. Even after intensive treatment programs, women successfully treated for Hodgkin's disease have become pregnant and delivered phenotypically normal children.