1962

Radiotherapist Henry Kaplan at Stanford Hospital leads first randomized clinical trial for Hodgkin’s patients: The study was limited to newly diagnosed Stage 1 (a single site) and Stage 2 (two adjacent sites) Hodgkin’s disease. Following the “L-1 Protocol,” patients were randomly assigned to two groups, with the aim of determining whether prophylactic irradiation to uninvolved nodes adjacent to affected regions (“extended field irradiation”) improved duration of remission and survival. Of the 96 patients in the study, 60% of those who received “extended field irradiation” remained free of disease, whereas 46% of those who only received “involved field irradiation” did so. Survival rates in both groups were similar at ca. 55%. The exception: Patients with systemic symptoms (fever, night sweats, weight loss) did much worse with “involved field irradiation” (80% recurrence rate) than with “extended field irradiation” (C. Jacobs, 144-150).