A B S T R A C T PurposeTo optimize fertility advice in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) before therapy and during survivorship, information on the impact of chemotherapy is needed. Therefore, we analyzed gonadal functions in survivors of HL. Patients and MethodsWomen younger than age 40 and men younger than 50 years at diagnosis in ongoing remission at least 1 year after therapy within the German Hodgkin Study Group HD13 to HD15 trials for earlyand advanced-stage HL were included. Hormone parameters, menstrual cycle, symptoms of hypogonadism, and offspring were evaluated. ResultsA total of 1,323 (55%) of 2,412 contacted female and male survivors were evaluable for the current analysis (mean follow-up, 46 and 48 months, respectively). Follicle-stimulating hormone, anti-Mü llerian hormone, and inhibin B levels correlated significantly with therapy intensity (P Ͻ .001). Low birth rates were observed in survivors after advanced-stage treatment within the observation time (women, 6.5%; men, 3.3%). Regular menstrual cycle was reported by more than 90% of female survivors of early-stage HL (recovery time mostly Յ 12 months). After six to eight cycles of bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone, menstrual activity was strongly related to age (Ͻ v Ն 30 years: 82% v 45%, respectively; P Ͻ .001; prolonged recovery time). Thirty-four percent of women age Ն 30 years suffered severe menopausal symptoms (three-to four-fold more frequently than expected). In contrast, male survivors had mean levels of testosterone within the normal range and reported no increased symptoms of hypogonadism. ConclusionThe present analysis in a large group of survivors of HL provides well-grounded information on gonadal toxicity of currently used treatment regimens and allows risk-adapted fertility preservation and comprehensive support during therapy and follow-up.

Low to moderate doses of anthracyclines resulted in subclinical myocardial alteration in more patients than so far noticed. Clinical implications of increased Tei index remain to be determined in long-term. Our results do not support that assessment of cTnT or BNP levels may safely replace serial echocardiographic evaluation of systolic and diastolic function for the monitoring of anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), conventional therapy induces high cure rates but also relevant acute and long-term toxic effects. Nivolumab is well tolerated and highly effective in relapsed/refractory cHL but has not been adequately studied in first-line treatment of early-stage cHL. The NIVAHL trial evaluated nivolumab in this setting with the aim to develop a highly effective yet tolerable systemic therapy to ultimately mitigate morbidity in patients who survive cHL.OBJECTIVE To evaluate efficacy of 2 experimental nivolumab-based first-line treatment strategies in patients with early-stage unfavorable cHL. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis was an open-label, multicenter, phase 2 randomized clinical trial, open between April 2017 and October 2018. The trial took place at 35 trial centers across Germany, ranging from academic centers to private offices. Eligibility was defined by age 18 to 60 years, cHL confirmed by expert pathology review, early-stage unfavorable disease by German Hodgkin Study Group criteria (stage I to II with risk factor[s]), and absence of serious concomitant disease or organ dysfunction. Among 110 enrolled patients, 109 were eligible.INTERVENTIONS Systemic therapy, per random assignment (1:1) to either concomitant treatment with 4 cycles of nivolumab and doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (N-AVD) or sequential treatment with 4 doses of nivolumab, 2 cycles of N-AVD, and 2 cycles of AVD at standard doses, followed by 30-Gy involved-site radiotherapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESComplete remission (CR) rate after study treatment, aiming at excluding a CR rate of 80% or lower via a 2-sided 95% CI for each treatment group. RESULTSOf 109 patients included in this study, 65 (59.6%) were women, and the median (range) age was 27 (18-60) years. At interim staging after 2 cycles of N-AVD or 4 doses of nivolumab monotherapy, 54 of 54 (100%) and 49 of 51 (96%) response-eligible patients, respectively, achieved an objective response, with CR in 47 (87%) and 26 (51%) patients, respectively. Among 101 patients eligible for primary end point analysis, 46 of 51 (90%; 95% CI, 79%-97%) patients receiving concomitant therapy and 47 of 50 (94%; 95% CI, 84%-99%) patients receiving sequential therapy achieved CR after study treatment. With a median follow-up of 13 months, 12-month progression-free survival was 100% for patients receiving concomitant treatment and 98% (95% CI, 95%-100%) for patients receiving sequential therapy.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Both strategies combining nivolumab and AVD are feasible and resulted in high remission rates. Despite narrowly missing the efficacy benchmark in the concomitant group, the excellent 12-month progression-free survival and the unexpectedly high CR rate after 4 doses of nivolumab monotherapy warrant further evaluation of this approach in the first-line treatment of patients with early-stage cHL.

Key Points• Occurrence of t-AML/MDS after Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare event correlating with the intensity of first-line chemotherapy.• Allogeneic stem cell transplantation appears to improve the generally poor prognosis of patients with t-AML/MDS after Hodgkin lymphoma.Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes (t-AML/MDS) represent severe late effects in patients treated for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Because more recent data are scarce, we retrospectively analyzed incidence, outcome, and risk factors for the development of t-AML/MDS after HL. A total of 11 952 patients treated for newly diagnosed HL within German Hodgkin Study Group trials between 1993 and 2009 were considered. At a median follow-up of 72 months, t-AML/MDS was diagnosed in 106/11 952 patients (0.9%). Median time from HL treatment to t-AML/MDS was 31 months. The median age of patients with t-AML/MDS was higher than in the whole patient group (43 vs 34 years, P < .0001). Patients who received 4 or more cycles of BEACOPP escalated had an increased risk to develop t-AML/MDS when compared with patients treated with less than 4 cycles of BEACOPP escalated or no BEACOPP chemotherapy (1.7% vs 0.7% vs 0.3%, P < .0001). The median overall survival (OS) for all t-AML/MDS patients was 7.2 months. However, t-AML/ MDS patients proceeding to allogeneic stem cell transplantation had a significantly better outcome with a median OS not reached after a median follow-up of 41 months (P < .001).