Hodgkin's Disease Variant of Richter's Syndrome: Complete Remission of the both Malignancies after 14 Years

Abstract

Richter's syndrome is defined by the occurrence of high-grade malignant lymphoma in the course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The prognosis is poor with a life expectancy of a few months.

We report on the case of a 68-year old male who developed Hodgkin's disease 6 years after the diagnosis of stage A CLL was made. The patient received 3 cycles of combination chemotherapy according to the ABVD regimen, followed by radiotherapy. This treatment resulted in complete apparent remission of the two diseases, which was persistent after a follow-up of 14 years. The Hodgkin's disease variant of Richter's syndrome is exceptional with about 20 reported cases to date. Recent research indicates that lymphoma cells derive from leukemia. The prognosis appears far better than that for the classical non-Hodgkin Richter's syndrome.

Keywords:

• Hodgkin disease
• Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic
• Prognosis
• Treatment outcome
• Reed-Sternberg cells