Preliminary Analysis of Body Mass Index and Long-Term Health Effects in Adolescent and Young Adult Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Survivors

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HL) is among the most common malignancy diagnosed in the adolescents and young adults (AYA). Fortunately, prognosis for HL patients is positive, and many return to normal life after treatment. Nonetheless, both radiation therapy and anthracyclines are known to cause heart damage and other health effects. The longer post-cancer survival of AYAs led us to hypothesize about the long-term treatment effects these patients experience. Through retrospective chart abstraction, the records of 147 AYA HL survivors treated at MD Anderson were examined for long-term health outcomes. Our preliminary analysis revealed that survivors are at risk of dramatic weight gain assessed over an average of 7.58 years post-treatment, which may stress the cardiovascular system, exacerbating the heart damage associated with certain chemotherapy regimens. Greater knowledge of these risk factors will allow high-risk patients to be closely monitored by cardiologists and nutritionists to curb these negative effects of cancer treatment through early intervention and continued follow-up.