High-dose Methotrexate plus temozolomide with or without rituximab in patients with untreated primary central nervous...

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the efficacy and toxicity of high-dose methotrexate plus temozolomide (MT regimen) and rituximab plus MT (RMT regimen) in patients with untreated primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). A total of 62 patients with untreated PCNSL were enrolled between January 2005 and December 2015, with the median age of 53.5 years (range 29-77).In this study, 32 patients received RMT as induction therapy, and 30 received MT. Objective responses were noted in 93.7% of the patients in the RMT group and in 69.0% of the patients in the MT group (P = 0.018), while complete responses were noted in 53.2% of the patients in the RMT group and 27.6% of the patients in the MT group (P < 0.001). The 2- and 5-year PFS rates were 81.3% and 53.3%, respectively, for the RMT group and 46.5% and 29.1%, respectively, for the MT group (P = 0.019). The 2- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 82.3% and 82.3%, respectively, for the RMT group and 65.7% and 50.0%, respectively, for the MT group (P = 0.015). Multivariate analyses showed that therapeutic regimen (RMT vs MT) was an independent prognostic factor for PFS and OS. Our encouraging results suggest that the RMT regimen may be a feasible and safe therapeutic approach for first-line treatment of PCNSL.