LAUSR

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a rather rare malignancy that often affects young adults. The disease is peculiar since the number of malignant cells is rare so that for decades, it was unclear if this was an unusual infection, autoimmune disease, or indeed a malignancy. There are two subtypes of HL: classical HL (cHL) and nodular lymphocyte predominant HL (NLPHL). The history of HL dates back to the first half of the 19th century when this lymphoid disease was described by Dr Thomas Hodgkin (1798‐1869). Children and young adults are often affected by HL representing the largest group of malignant lymphoma up to the age of 39 years. Most new cases of HL are in the group of 20‐ to 34‐year‐old patients representing nearly 32% of all new lymphoma cases. The most comprehensive data set on incidence and cumulative relative survival of HL is derived from the Swedish registry. Their data show that over decades, the prognosis of patients with HL has greatly improved over time, particularly for those patients under the age of 50 years. There is also a variety of late side effects after successful treatment for HL including secondary neoplasia such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other leukemias, non‐HL, and a variety of solid tumors. The largest overall standardized incidence ratio (SIR) as compared with the general population is observed for AML (22‐fold). The risk for non‐HL is increased by sixfold to 14‐fold followed by different solid tumors.