Prof Andreas Engert speaks to ecancer about managing Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof Engert outlines considerations on selecting a first-line treatment for untreated advanced-stage HL patients during COVID-19 and specific precautions that should be considered for HL patients with a pulmonary co-morbidity or toxicity due to treatments at this time.

He discusses the difficulties of using bleomycin in light of the pandemic, suggesting that the risks of this treatment are likely to outweigh the potential benefits, particularly for high-risk patients.

Prof Engert goes on to identify patient subgroups who require specific considerations regarding treatment due to COVID-19, including relapsed / refractory patients, and gives his recommendations for how to approach their treatment.

He concludes by speaking about how the pandemic has impacted cancer care generally and stresses the need to carefully consider treatment plans for at-risk patients during this time.

This programme has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Takeda.