Chapter 5 - Hodgkin's lymphoma in pregnancy

Summary

This chapter describes the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) in pregnancy. The diagnosis of lymphoma requires a lymph node biopsy for pathological examination. The routine staging process for all lymphomas requires radiological evaluation usually with chest and abdominal computed tomography (CT). Abdominal and pelvic CT should be avoided during pregnancy. When magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is available, it should be the modality of choice for the staging of lymphoma during pregnancy. Recently, positron emission tomography (PET)-CT has been increasingly used for both staging and treatment follow-up in patients with lymphoma. Although chemotherapy is currently recommended for the treatment of HL at all stages, radiotherapy can still be considered an appropriate treatment for stage 1. The most popular chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of HL is adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine (ABVD). Adequate treatment with ABVD should be administered immediately at the beginning of the second trimester.