Treatment with high doses of antimetabolites followed by rituximab plus high-dose sequential chemoimmunotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation was feasible and effective in a multicenter phase II study of 38 patients with aggressive B-cell lymphoma and secondary central nervous system involvement.
The patients, aged 18 to 70 years with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 3 or less at enrollment, were treated with high doses of methotrexate and cytarabine, followed by rituximab plus high-dose sequential chemoimmunotherapy (R-HDS) consisting of cylcophosphamide, cytarabine, and etoposide supported by autologous stem-cell transplantation in eligible patients.
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Toxicity was typically manageable, but 30 treatment courses were complicated by grade 3 or 4 febrile neutropenia and/or infections; 4 patients died because of toxicity, Dr. Andres J. M. Ferreri of San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy and colleagues reported online Aug. 17 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The complete response rate was 63% (24 patients), and 17 patients remained relapse free at a median follow-up of 48 months, with a 2-year event-free survival rate of 50%, and a 5-year survival rate of 41%, the investigators said (J Clin Oncol. 2015 Aug 17. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2015.61.1236).
This novel radiotherapy-free regimen, developed based on encouraging outcomes with antimetabolites in patients with primary CNS lymphoma and with R-HDS in relapsed aggressive lymphoma, appears safe and effective in the setting of secondary CNS lymphoma (SCNSL).
“We propose this strategy as the standard of care for patients with SCNSL and as a comparison control regimen for future trials,” they concluded.
Dr. Ferreri reported having no disclosures. One co-author, Dr. Federico Caligaris-Cappio, reported serving in a consulting or advisory role for Janssen and Pharmacyclics.