Novel Therapies for Primary Central Nervous System Lymphomas

Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) is an aggressive form of lymphoma that can involve the brain, spinal cord, leptomeninges and eyes. PCNSL prognosis continues to be poor, with 5-year survival rates of 30-40%. Therapeutic options are especially limited for relapsed/refractory (r/r) PCNSL. In recent years, studies shed light on the pathogenesis and oncogenic pathways driving PCNSL, leading to the development of novel therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the evidence supporting these novel agents and present ongoing clinical studies.

Key oncogenic drivers of PCNSL include activation of the NFkB pathway, cell cycle dysregulation, somatic hypermutation and immune evasion, leading to the investigation of targeted therapeutics and immunotherapeutics to inhibit these pathways. Such approaches include BTK inhibitors, mTOR/PI3K inhibitors, immunomodulatory agents (IMIDs), immune checkpoint inhibitors and CD19-based CAR T-cells. The therapeutic repertoire for PCNSL is rapidly evolving, and a multi-modality approach including intensive chemotherapy regimens and novel therapies will likely be utilized in the future.