Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hepatic dysfunction in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is of multifactorial aetiology. Prompt evaluation with laboratory tests and imaging methods is sufficient for diagnosis in most cases. Intrahepatic cholestasis and vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS) may complicate cHL as rare paraneoplastic phenomena. Liver biopsy provides crucial evidence of cholestasis, and ductopenia, if present, confirms the diagnosis of VBDS. CASE REPORT: We report on a cHL patient that presented with jaundice and bulky mediastinal disease and unfold the therapeutic dilemmas we confronted. Marked hyperbilirubinemia was successfully reversed with brentuximab vedotin (BV) at a dose of 1.2 mg/kg and the patient was subsequently treated with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (ABVD) at full doses, achieving complete metabolic response. A literature review of intrahepatic cholestasis in cHL is also presented based on currently available data with focus on treatment options and clinicopathologic associations. CONCLUSION: VBDS and intrahepatic cholestasis are rare and potentially fatal complications of cHL. Their prompt recognition and appropriate treatment can dramatically affect cHL patients' outcome. BV, used at a reduced dose as a bridging therapy, should be considered as a high-priority treatment plan in these challenging cases.