Case report: a patient with primary CNS lymphoma treated with temozolomide to complete response

We report the case of a 72-year-old woman with primary CNS lymphoma of the mid-brain and pons who had a complete response to oral temozolomide chemotherapy. She initially presented in early 2001 with several weeks of progressive memory loss and unresponsiveness. Because of her age and impaired renal function, she was a poor candidate for whole-brain radiotherapy or systemic high-dose methotrexate. After treatment with two cycles of temozolomide, restaging MRI revealed no evidence of disease. Her mental status improved significantly over this time. Temozolomide may represent a promising new drug for the treatment of primary CNS lymphoma.