[Diagnosis and therapy of Hodgkin's disease in Freiburg in Breisgau 1964 to 1976. 1. Report of the complete collective].

Between May 1964 and December 1976, 370 patients with Hodgkin's disease (CS/PSIn = 41 [11.2%], CS/PSIIn = 148 [40.2%], CS/PSIII n = 148 [40.2%], CS/PSIV n = 31 [8.4%] with different diagnoses were treated by different therapies, 250 out of them (67.5%) only by radiotherapy (local, extended, and total lymphoid irradiation), 115 (31%) by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and five patients in stage IV (1.5%) only by chemotherapy. The first treatment divides the patients into three subgroups with significantly different prognoses: 1. a subgroup with complete remission assessed half a year after the end of therapy (n = 206 [58%]) and a healing rate of 96.2%; 2. a subgroup with partial remission (n = 62 [17.5%]) and a healing rate of 51.6%; 3. a subgroup without remission (n = 87 [24.5%]) and a healing rate of 4.2%. In case of recurrence after complete or partial remission, another complete and durable remission is achieved by subsequent therapy in about 85% of patients with preceding complete remission and statistically about 50% of patients with preceding partial remission. The overall five-year survival rate is 73.1%; a constant level of 67.3% (statistical healing rate) is observed after seven years. The following risk factors for remission have been found: the histologic manifestation lymphocytic depletion, parts of stage III, especially of type B, stage IV, and an age above 40 years and even more above 50 years.