Dr Hamish Wallace

Royal Hospital for Sick Children
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Improving treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Dr Hamish Wallace is based at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, where he is running an international clinical trial to improve treatment for young people with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Hodgkin's lymphoma is a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. The disease isn't common, but it is most likely to affect older children and teenagers. Luckily treatment is usually very successful, and more than nine out of ten young people with the disease will survive.

Treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma usually involves powerful drugs and radiotherapy, and it can cause side effects such as infertility. Dr Wallace is trying to reduce these side effects to improve the long-term outlook for survivors.

To do this, he is running an international trial comparing different ways of treating the disease. Dr Wallace hopes the results will show doctors how to treat lymphoma effectively, while reducing side effects. If the trial is a success it could have a huge impact on survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma in the future.