[Clinical Efficacy of High Dose Methotrexate, Temozolomide and Rituximab in the Treatment of Patients with Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical efficacy of high dose methotrexate (HD-MTX), temozolomide (TMZ), and rituximab (R) in the treatment of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL).

METHODS

Clinical data of patients with PCNSL diagnosed and treated in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from February 2010 to May 2017 were collected. First, patients were given 6-8 cycles of MTX (3.5 g/m2) for induction treatment, and then 12 cycles of TMZ (150 mg/m2) for maintenance treatment. The day before induction treatment, patients were given rituximab 375 mg/m2 according to their economic status. A retrospective cohort study was performed on patients receiving HD-MTX+TMZ or HD-MTX+TMZ+R to analyze the efficacy and survival.

RESULTS

There were 42 patients enrolled in the study, 17 cases in HD-MTX+TMZ group and 25 cases in HD-MTX+TMZ+R group. The median PFS and OS times in HD-MTX+TMZ+R group were 56.7 months and N/A, respectively, while, 7.3 months and 34.7 months in HD-MTX+TMZ group, respectively. In addition, there was no significant difference in median survival between patients who received TMZ maintenance therapy and those who were only actively monitored. During the induction period, all the patients had grade 1-2 nausea and vomiting, while in the consolidation treatment period, no grade 3/4 toxicity was observed.

CONCLUSION

The combination of HD-MTX+TMZ+R in the treatment of PCNSL patients shows a definite short-term effect, which can increase the survival rate of the patients. The side effects are mild, and the patients can generally tolerate.