About Hodgkin’s Disease

Hodgkin’s disease is a form of lymphoma, a general term for cancers that develop in the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system. Hodgkin’s disease is differentiated from other forms of lymphoma — which are grouped under the name of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma — by the presence of so-called Reed-Sternberg cells. Reed-Sternberg cells were named after the two doctors who first described them in detail. Under a microscope they look different from cells of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and other cancers. Symptoms of Hodgkin’s disease include fevers that recur without an apparent cause, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, and painless swelling in the lymph nodes in the neck, underarm or groin.

Treatment for Hodgkin’s Disease

The three main types of treatment for Hodgkin’s disease are radiation therapy, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. The type of treatment depends on the patient and nature of the illness.

At the Bone Marrow Transplant Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, patients with relapsed or refractory (that is, resistant to treatment) Hodgkin's disease, who meet specific criteria, may be eligible for autologous/allogeneic stem cell transplantation.