Introduction

Excerpt

Lymphomas encompass a wide spectrum of disease from very low grade indolent conditions such as follicular lymphoma or lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's disease, in which a long natural history with little or no therapeutic intervention can be expected, to highly aggressive conditions such as lymphoblastic lymphoma and Burkitt's lymphoma, where, despite intensive chemotherapy, still only relatively low cure rates are obtainable. This spectrum of disease, however, includes some of the most curable malignancies encountered in oncological practice, with cure anticipated in around 90% of most patients presenting with Hodgkin's disease and 40–50% of those presenting with common high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Whilst much of the impetus of treatment development continues to be towards improving the probability of cure for any patient, the successful treatment of patients with many years of life ahead of them has also raised the spectre of long-term toxicity and the need to tailor treatment as far as possible to an individual, minimising their exposure to potentially harmful chemotherapy and radiation. …