Radiotherapeutic palliation of lymphoma

Recent improvements in chemotherapies, targeted agents, hematopoietic stem cell transplants, and cellular therapies have revolutionized treatment paradigms for patients with lymphomas. Even in the relapsed or refractory setting, contemporary treatment options are delivered with a curative intent and routinely lead to lasting remissions. While such therapies have improved overall outcomes, they have increasingly led to a wide variety of presentations of recurrent tumors in need of palliation. In this chapter, we discuss the use of radiotherapy in the palliation of symptoms for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphomas, and cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Lymphomas are frequently exquisitely radiosensitive, and low doses of radiotherapy may be used for palliation. We review the available literature on these topics and draw particular attention to commonly encountered clinical scenarios.