The role of upfront autologous stem cell transplantation in high-risk younger patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma

Clinical outcomes of etoposide and cytarabine as consolidation in elderly patients with primary CNS lymphoma

BACKGROUND

A consolidation strategy has not been established for transplant-ineligible elderly patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). In this study, we aimed to retrospectively evaluate the clinical outcomes of etoposide and cytarabine (EA) as consolidation chemotherapy for transplant-ineligible patients with PCNSL following high-dose methotrexate (MTX)-based induction chemotherapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between 2015 and 2021, newly diagnosed transplant-ineligible patients with PCNSL with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma were consecutively enrolled. All enrolled patients were over 60 years old and received EA consolidation after achieving a complete or partial response following induction chemotherapy.

RESULTS

Of the 85 patients who achieved a complete or partial response to MTX-based induction chemotherapy, 51 received EA consolidation chemotherapy. Among the 25 (49.0%, 25/51) patients in partial remission before EA consolidation, 56% (n = 14) achieved complete remission after EA consolidation. The median overall survival and progression-free survival were 43 and 13 months, respectively. Hematological toxicities were most common, and all patients experienced grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. Forty-eight patients experienced febrile neutropenia during consolidation chemotherapy, and 4 patients died owing to treatment-related complications.

CONCLUSION

EA consolidation chemotherapy for transplant-ineligible, elderly patients with PCNSL improved response rates but showed a high relapse rate and short progression-free survival. The incidences of treatment-related mortality caused by hematologic toxicities and severe infections were very high, even after dose modification. Therefore, the use of EA consolidation should be reconsidered in elderly patients with PCNSL.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma: A mini-review

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a highly aggressive brain tumor with poor prognosis if no treatment. The activation of the NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-B) is the oncogenic hallmark of PCNSL, and it was driven by B cell receptor (BCR) and Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways. The emergence of Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKis) has brought the dawn of life to patients with PCNSL. This review summarizes the management of PCNSL with BTKis and potential molecular mechanisms of BTKi in the treatment of PCNSL. And the review will focus on the clinical applications of BTKi in the treatment of PCNSL including the efficacy and adverse events, the clinical trials currently being carried out, the underlying mechanisms of resistance to BTKi and possible solutions to drug resistance.

Treatment of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma in Immunocompetent Patients

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review focuses on the findings of recent randomized prospective trials evaluating new therapeutic options for primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) in first-line treatment and on the most promising novel agents.

RECENT FINDINGS

The current standard treatment of newly diagnosed PCNSL has long been depending on high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based polychemotherapy followed by whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Recent randomized trials have provided evidence that high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is a valuable alternative option to WBRT as consolidation after induction HD-MTX-based chemotherapy. For the elderly, cumulative studies confirm that chemotherapy alone as initial treatment is the best approach in this frail population in order to reduce chemoradiation neurotoxicity. If the role of rituximab needs to be further investigated, novel agents such as imids and ibrutinib have shown to be promising drugs to be incorporated in innovative combination treatment. The role of WBRT, at least at conventional dose, is declining in first-line treatment in favor of intensive consolidation chemotherapy with or without ASCT and possibly maintenance chemotherapy in the elderly. Despite their rarity, it has been shown that ambitious randomized trials in PCNSL are feasible thanks to collaborative networks.

Improving outcomes in primary CNS lymphoma

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is an aggressive disease with previously poor prognosis. The advent of high-dose methotrexate-based induction regimens as well as use of consolidation therapy has greatly improved this prognosis in recent decades, but durable remission still eludes half of patients. In this review, we summarize the progress made in the treatment of PCNSL as well as the challenges that remain, with a focus on defining optimal induction and consolidation regimens, including the promise of developing biotherapies. Future studies will help delineate the best combination of existing and novel treatment strategies, with the goal of expanding the cohort of patients achieving a cure.

Programmed cell death 1 expression is associated with inferior survival in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma

Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and its ligands PD-L1/PD-L2 have been shown to mediate immune evasion in various cancers, but their prognostic implications in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) are poorly understood. Therefore, we analyzed 76 PCNSL patients at initial diagnosis who were treated homogenously with high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy, and evaluated the prognostic roles of high immunohistochemical PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 expression. The cut-off values for high PD-1 (≥ 70 cells/high power field [HPF]), PD-L1 (≥ 100 cells/HPF), and PD-L2 (≥ 100 cells/HPF) were determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Expression of PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 was high in 7.9%, 13.2%, and 42.1% patients, respectively. High PD-1, (P = 0.007) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) prognostic scoring (P = 0.019) were independently associated with inferior overall survival on multivariate analysis. High PD-1 also remained an independent prognostic factor for inferior progression-free survival (P = 0.028), as did MSKCC prognostic scoring (P = 0.041) on multivariate analysis. However, there were no differences in survival according to the expression levels of PD-L1/PD-L2 in PCNSL tumor microenvironment. Our results suggest that PD-1 may be considered a biomarker and potential therapeutic target in PCNSL.

Case 01-2017 - Primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL): report of a case and update of literature from 1942 to 2016

Primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL), as a subset of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), is a rare and fatal ocular malignancy. Most PVRL masquerades as chronic posterior uveitis, which makes the clinical diagnosis challenging. Vitreous cells, subretinal lesions and imaging techniques are essential for clinical diagnosis. Importantly, cytopathology/histopathology identification of malignant cells is the gold standard for the diagnosis of PVRL. In addition, molecular detection of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) or T cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements, immunophenotyping for cell markers, and cytokine analysis of interleukine-10 elevation are often used as adjunct procedures. Current management of PVRL involves local radiation, intravitreal chemotherapy (methotrexate and rituximab), with or without systemic chemotherapy depending on the involvement of non-ocular tissues. In cases with concomitant PCNSL, systemic high-dose methotrexate/rituximab based therapy in conjunction with local therapy, whole brain radiotherapy and/or autologous stem cell transplantation is considered. Although PVRL normally responds well to initial treatment, high rates of relapse and CNS involvement usually lead to poor prognosis and limited survival. A professional team of medical experts in ophthalmologists, ocular pathologists, neuro-oncologists and hemato-oncologists is essential for optimizing patient management.

The prognostic role of CD68 and FoxP3 expression in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma

The prognostic role of CD68 and FoxP3 in primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) has not been evaluated. Thus, we examined the prognostic significance of CD68 and FoxP3 expression in tumor samples of 76 newly diagnosed immunocompetent PCNSL patients. All patients were treated initially with high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based chemotherapy, and 16 (21.1%) patients received upfront autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) consolidation. High expression of CD68 (>55 cells/high-power field) or FoxP3 (>15 cells/high-power field) was observed in 10 patients, respectively. High CD68 expression was associated with inferior overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in multivariate analysis (P = 0.023 and P = 0.021, respectively). In addition, we performed subgroup analysis based on upfront ASCT. High CD68 expression was also associated with inferior OS and PFS in multivariate analysis (P = 0.013 and P < 0.001, respectively) among patients who did not receive upfront ASCT (n = 60), but not in patients who received upfront ASCT. The expression of FoxP3 was not significantly associated with survival. Therefore, we identified a prognostic significance of high CD68 expression in PCNSL, which suggests a need for further clinical trials and biological studies on the role of PCNSL tumor microenvironment.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma: essential points in diagnosis and management

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is an extra-nodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma. PCNSL is defined as lymphoma involving the brain, leptomeninges, eyes, or spinal cord without evidence of lymphoma outside the CNS. Treatment includes induction with chemotherapy and consolidation with whole-brain radiotherapy or high-dose chemotherapy supported by autologous stem cell transplantation. High-dose methotrexate is the most important drug in cases with PCNSL, and this drug will be used in combination with small molecules, BTK inhibitors, new monoclonal antibodies, and checkpoint blockers.