PRIMARY CEREBRAL LYMPHOMA - AN ARGUMENT FOR THE USE OF ADJUNCTIVE SYSTEMIC CHEMOTHERAPY

Eleven patients with primary cerebral lymphoma were treated at a singl e institution over a 5 year period. Patient characteristics were typic al of this rare disease. One patient died prior to receiving treatment and of the remaining 10, all received cranial irradiation and in addi tion, five received systemic cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine and prednisolone (CHOP) chemotherapy. Of the six patients who are ali ve and disease-free, five received the combined modality therapy. The median survival for those patients receiving cranial irradiation alone was 18 months and for the combined modalities was 25+ months. Combina tion systemic chemotherapy, in addition to cerebral irradiation, may c onvey a survival benefit in patients with primary cerebral lymphoma bu t this requires further investigation with multicentre, prospective ra ndomized trials.