NCCN Releases New Resource to Help Families Understand Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma, Part of Award-Winning Patient Information Series

Newswise — PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA [August 22, 2023] — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) today announced the publication of NCCN Guidelines for Patients^®: Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children. The book offers a comprehensive analysis of the treatment options, benefits, and risks of care approaches for pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma, one of the most curable forms of childhood cancer, with long-term survival rates of 90% or higher.[1]

This free resource is available online at NCCN.org/patientguidelines and via the NCCN Patient Guides for Cancer App thanks to funding from the NCCN Foundation^®.

“When a child is diagnosed with blood cancer, families are thrust into a world of worry and uncertainty and it’s critical that they have easy-to-access, up-to-date information on the disease and what to expect,” said Gwen Nichols, MD, Chief Medical Officer at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). “This excellent guide clearly and calmly covers every aspect of pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma—from testing to staging to treatment options and follow-up care—and also connects families with organizations that can offer personalized support every step of the way.” 

NCCN Guidelines for Patients are based on the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) used by healthcare providers all over the world as a guide to best practices in cancer care. NCCN Guidelines^® are considered the gold standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and are the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The evidence-based recommendations are developed by panels of experts from across leading cancer centers that are NCCN Member Institutions.

The NCCN Guidelines for Patients contain the same treatment information as the NCCN Guidelines but are written for people with cancer and their caregivers. They include charts and images, a glossary of medical terms, and suggested questions to ask during appointments. An independent study found the NCCN Guidelines for Patients to be among the most trustworthy resources for people seeking online information about cancer.

“For pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma, many people are pleasantly surprised that cure rates are really high. Because it’s a rarer cancer, it’s more important than ever that there’s published, peer-reviewed guidance that people can go to for accurate information,” said Jamie Flerlage, MD, MS, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Chair, NCCN Guidelines Panel for Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Award-Winning Patient Resources

The NCCN Guidelines for Patients and associated information have been honored with many awards for patient information, including the following in just the past year:

• 2023 National Health Information Awards: Books
  • Bronze Award for NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)

• 2023 APEX Award of Excellence: Print Media – Books
  • For the NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Uterine Cancer

• 2023 Digital Health Awards (presented by the Health Information Resource Center)
  • Gold Award for NCCN Webinar for Patients: Early-Stage Prostate Cancer
  • Silver Award for NCCN Guidelines for Patients: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

• Fall 2022 Digital Health Awards: Web-based Digital Health – Infographic
  • Silver Award for Understanding Immunotherapy Side Effects 

• Fall 2022 Digital Health Awards: Media/Publications – Editorial Animation
  • Silver Award for How to Talk to Your Doctor about Metastatic Breast Cancer

• 2022 Cancer Patient Education Network (CPEN)
  • Excellence in Cancer Patient Education Award for NCCN breast cancer patient resources

The library of NCCN Guidelines for Patients currently contains nearly 70 different books, including prevention, screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancers. There are also books on supportive care topics like survivorship, managing cancer-related distress, nausea and vomiting, side-effects from immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, and special considerations for adolescents and young adults across all cancer types. NCCN Guidelines for Patients have been translated into more than a dozen different languages. In addition to free digital download online or via the NCCN Patient Guides for Cancer app, printed versions are available for a nominal fee at Amazon.com.

Learn more and help support these and other resources for people affected by cancer and their caregivers at NCCN.org/patients.

 [1] Kelly KM. Hodgkin lymphoma in children and adolescents: improving the therapeutic index. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program 2015;2015:514-521. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26637767.

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About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, equitable, and accessible cancer care so all patients can live better lives. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) provide transparent, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for cancer treatment, prevention, and supportive services; they are the recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients^® provide expert cancer treatment information to inform and empower patients and caregivers, through support from the NCCN Foundation^®. NCCN also advances continuing education, global initiatives, policy, and research collaboration and publication in oncology. Visit NCCN.org for more information.

About the NCCN Foundation

The NCCN Foundation empowers people with cancer and their caregivers by delivering unbiased expert guidance from the world’s leading cancer experts through the library of NCCN Guidelines for Patients^® and other patient education resources. The NCCN Foundation is also committed to advancing cancer treatment by funding the nation’s promising young investigators at the forefront of cancer research. For more information about the NCCN Foundation, visit nccnfoundation.org.