1129 Long-Term Excess Mortality in Patients with Early-Stage Hodgkin's Disease. AK Ng, BP Bernardo, E Weller, K Backstrand, B Silver, KC Marcus, NL Tarbell, M Mauch; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA Purpose: Toe analyze the pattern and timing of excess mortality in patients with early-stage Hodgkin's Disease (HD). Methods: Between 1969 and 1997, 1,080 patients age 50 or younger were treated for clinical-stage IA to IIB HD. Causes of death, excess mortality and competing mortality, over time were determined. Relative risks (RR) and absolute excess risks (AR, expressed as the number of excess cases per 10,000 person-years) of mortality were calculated for the entire cohort and by prognostic groups (modified from EORTC, based on B symptoms, mediastinal status and number of involved sites), Results: The median follow-up time was 12 years. Causes of death in 161 patients were: HD (60), second malignancies (59), cardiac/pulmonary disease (22), infection (7), and other causes (13). ...No HD deaths were observed after 15 years. The excess risk of mortality remained significantly elevated beyond 20 years from initial diagnosis. When analyzed according to prognostic group, the AR of mortality from all causes in -the favorable-prognosis group increased over time, predominantly from causes other than HD, whereas for the unfavorable-prognosis group, the AR peaked in the first 5 years, predominantly from HD. The RR of of mortality from second tumors and cardiac disease remained significantly elevated beyond 20 years after treatment. The cumulative incidence of mortality from HD was exceeded by that from all other causes after 14 years, and that from second malignancies after 18 years. Conclusions: Patients treated for early-stage HD have a sustained mortality excess despite good disease control. Treatment reduction efforts in patients with favorable-prognosis disease should continue, but for patients with an unfavorable prognosis, modified treatment should be used judiciously. The excess mortality noted beyond two decades underscores the importance of long-term follow-up care in these patients. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.