Primary lymphomas of the brain: a clinico-pathologic review of 37 cases

The clinico-pathologic data of 37 primary lymphomas of the brain were retrospectively reviewed. The tumors were classified according to the Kiel classification and the Working Formulation System. They represented 1.02% of all primary intracranial tumors of our series. The radiologic prediction appeared to be difficult: the suspicion was maximal when the absence of pathologic vessels at angiography occurred in a meningioma-like lesion at CT. Median survival was 4.53 months in the 16 cases who underwent surgery only versus 25.7 months in the 8 cases operated and irradiated with 40-60 Gy (p less than 0.01). The prognosis of lymphomas of the CNS, even if radioresponsive tumors, remains poor. Most patients relapse after treatment, most often locally in the brain, with a variable frequency of spinal or systemic localization.