Vera Peters and the curability of Hodgkin's disease.

[摘要]  Vera Peters and the curability of Hodgkin's disease. D.H. Cowan MD, FRCPC*  ABSTRACT  The middle of the 20 thcentury hailed the realization that patients with Hodgkin's disease could be cured. Through the groundbreaking work of Vera Peters, patients with a localized form of the disorder, previously thought to be incurable, were shown to be cured by extended field radiotherapy. This important observation, although not accepted immediately, opened the minds of physicians to take more positive investigative and therapeutic approaches. Peters also introduced and championed the concept of tumour staging in Hodgkin's disease and the use of prognostic factors in clinical decision making. This novel approach led to high cure rates with radiotherapy in localized disease and provided a scientific basis for the subsequent use of chemotherapy in disseminated disease resulting in a very high cure rate in patients with all stages of Hodgkin's disease. 

[学科分类] 肿瘤学