Alterations in chemotherapy regimens and radiation treatments vary according to the patient's response to treatment and the organs involved. Prognosis is best for those patients who are diagnosed while in stage I.
The first new drug approved by the FDA to treat HL in nearly 30 years is brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris). This drug is used to treat patients who have had unsuccessful bone marrow transplants or two unsuccessful chemotherapy treatments and are not eligible for transplant. (Simon 2013)
Brentuximab vedotin has many of the same side effects as other chemotherapy agents including nausea, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, tumor lysis, neutropenia, and decreased ability to fight infection. (Seattle Genetics 2013)