In 7,428 women treated for Hodgkin lymphoma before age 36, later invasive cancers stayed more common than expected

What the research found

A population cohort was published on 12 November 2026. It included 7,428 women diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma before age 36 in England and Wales from 1954 to 2010, with follow-up through 2018. Diagnosis before 36 is under 40, and the cohort is women. Median follow-up was 20.2 years. The authors describe a later invasive cancer as the leading cause of long-term treatment-related mortality in this setting. 1,200 women developed 1,467 invasive cancers. The standardized incidence ratio was 3.3 (95 percent CI 3.1 to 3.5). Breast, lung, and thyroid cancers were the most common. Solid-tumor risk was highest after radiotherapy, with a dose pattern. Alkylators given with radiotherapy lined up with a lower breast-cancer risk and a higher gastrointestinal-cancer risk. Solid-cancer risk was 25 percent lower for treatment years 2000 to 2010 than for 1954 to 1989. That drop weakened, and was no longer clear, after adjustment for radiotherapy. It was not changed by adjustment for chemotherapy. Hematologic cancers did not decline. Cumulative incidence of a later invasive cancer reached 36 percent at 50 years of follow-up. Risks remained raised past 50 years of follow-up, especially for lung and breast cancer. Observational. DOI 10.1200/jco-26-00418. Not medical advice.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at Journal of Clinical Oncology