Early complete response during chemotherapy predicts favorable outcome in patients with primary CNS lymphoma

In primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), 2 international prognostic scores have been developed to estimate the outcome according to certain "prognostic groups". However, these scores do not predict the individual course of a single patient under therapy. In this analysis, we addressed the question of whether early tumor remission in patients still under therapy, according to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) criteria, helps to predict long-term outcome. Eighty-eight patients treated with 6 polychemotherapy cycles within a pilot/phase II trial underwent MRI scanning within 72 hours prior to initiation of therapy, after the second chemotherapy cycle, and after completion of chemotherapy. Response was assessed by contrast-enhanced MRI of the brain according to the Macdonald criteria. Median follow-up was 42 months (range, 0-124 months). Patients achieving a complete radiographic response after 2 courses of chemotherapy (n = 18) had a significantly longer median overall survival (OS) (not reached) and median time-to-treatment failure (TTF) (not reached) than patients with complete response (CR) after termination of treatment but with only a partial response after the second cycle (n = 24) (OS: 55 months; TTF: 32 months) (P < .01). Early complete tumor response assessed by MRI after the second of sixth scheduled chemotherapy cycles was highly predictive for both OS and TTF in patients with PCNSL treated in this series.