Classical Hodgkin lymphoma-type PTLD after solid organ transplantation in children: a report on 17 patients treated according to subsequent GPOH-HD treatment schedules.

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a severe complication after solid organ transplantation (SOT). Classical Hodgkin lymphoma-type (HL-) PTLD is a rare subtype, and systematic data on treatment and prognosis are lacking. We report on 17 pediatric patients with classical HL-PTLD. HL-PTLD developed late at a median of 8.1 years after SOT. It was commonly EBV-positive (16/17) and expressed both CD30 (all tumors) and CD20 (8/17 tumors). Patients were treated with chemotherapy(+/-) involved field radiotherapy (IF-RT) according to the respective GPOH-HD protocol tailored by stage and LDH. Overall survival at 2 and 5 years was 86% with 81% of patients surviving event-free. Six patients had additional rituximab treatment; in two it was given as upfront monotherapy and in four was given concurrently with their chemotherapy. Rituximab monotherapy did not lead to long-term remission. In conclusion, treatment of HL-PTLD with classical HL chemotherapy is effective and tolerable. New treatment modalities such as CD30-targeted or EBV-specific agents may diminish toxicity.