The following is a summary of “Treatment of new-onset primary central nervous system lymphoma in elderly patients using RMPV chemotherapy: a single-institution experience,” published in the July 2023 issue of Hematology by Yoshida et al.
Elderly individuals diagnosed with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) continue to experience an unfavorable prognosis. Researchers performed a retrospective study to assess the effectiveness of rituximab, methotrexate, procarbazine, and vincristine (RMPV) chemotherapy in elderly patients with new-onset PCNSL.
They studied 28 patients aged 70 years or older treated for PCNSL from 2010 to 2020. Of these, 19 patients underwent RMPV treatment, while 9 were ineligible. Treatment included 5 to 7 cycles of RMPV, response-adapted whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT), and cytarabine. Among the RMPV recipients, 52.6% completed induction, with only 21.1% completing RMPV, WBRT (23.4 Gy), and cytarabine. The RMPV group exhibited a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 54.4 months and overall survival (OS) of 85.0 months.
The results showed that patients who received RMPV chemotherapy had significantly longer PFS and OS than those who did not. Similarly, patients who began but did not complete RMPV had better outcomes than those who did not receive RMPV. Notably, incomplete RMPV treatment correlated with a more favorable prognosis. The study indicated that initial RMPV chemotherapy was effective for elderly PCNSL patients.
Investigators concluded modifying RMPV course frequency may improve elderly PCNSL prognosis.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12185-023-03632-9
