ESHAP chemotherapy is efficient in refractory/relapsed primary central nervous system lymphoma: report of four cases

Primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a rare presentation, almost always of diffuse large B-cell type. Although there is no consensus regarding therapy for this condition, induction regimens are based on high-dose methotrexate and consolidation whole-brain radiotherapy, or, more preferred recently, blood-brain barrier penetrating drugs such as etoposide, cytarabine, and alkylating agents like temozolomide, ifosfamide, and lomustine. We present here four cases of relapsed/refractory primary central nervous system lymphoma treated with ESHAP (etoposide, solumedrol, high-dose cytarabine, and platinum) chemotherapy to complete remission, with the eligible patients proceeding to autologous transplantation. We want to draw attention to this interesting, relatively well tolerated, underused therapeutic option, in a setting where treatment options are scarce and evidence-based recommendations are lacking.