Long-Term Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors Show Nearly 2-Fold Mortality Increase
A study published in JAMA Network Open reveals that long-term Hodgkin lymphoma survivors face a nearly two-fold increase in mortality compared to the general population. While cancer recurrence is a factor, excess deaths are largely driven by cardiovascular and non-cancer causes.
Why it matters
These findings highlight the need for long-term, holistic health monitoring for cancer survivors beyond the initial treatment phase.
Adults who survived at least 5 years after a diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma had a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of 1.96 (95% CI, 1.89-2.03) compared with the general US population, according to a population-based cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.
What did the population-based study show for lymphoma survivors?
Among 20,057 Hodgkin lymphoma survivors identified across 16 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries, there were 2899 observed deaths vs 1480.8 expected deaths, corresponding to an excess absolute risk (EAR) of 81.9 (95% CI, 75.8-88.0) per 10,000 patient-years. Relative mortality risk was elevated across all major causes of death, driven primarily by malignant conditions, but the largest absolute number of excess deaths was attributable to noncancer and cardiovascular causes rather than lymphoma recurrence itself.
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