HODGKINS-DISEASE - PENDULUM SWINGS - KNOX LECTURE, ROYAL-COLLEGE-OF-RADIOLOGISTS, 1977

There has been a profound change in the attitude of the medical profession towards patients with Hodgkin's disease. Until recently the disease was regarded, quite incorrectly, as inevitably fatal. Nowadays it is frequently assumed that it is constantly curable, which is also a totally erroneous view. However, there has been an enormous improvement in the management of patients with all stages of the disease, so much so that further improvements without the production of excessive complications are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. The author reviews the background to the present situation including some of the studies organised by the British National Lymphoma Group, which may be producing results which could be of benefit for patients. Some measures are discussed which may offer hope of improving even further the situation for the patient, without increasing risks from treatment. © 1979.