Changing role of surgery in childhood lymphomas.

The use of combinations of chemo- and radiotherapy have decreased the need for surgical staging of Hodgkin's disease. The goal of decreasing therapy while maintaining cure rates, however, recreates a need for staging. Attempts are being made to devise criteria to decrease the need for surgical staging or to decrease the extent of the procedure. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma requires adequate tissue samples for analysis, for example, for immunophenotyping to determine treatment. Surgical resection in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is inadequate for treatment but may be helpful. Debulking, however, is no longer recommended.