Progress on radiotherapy of primary central nervous system lymphoma / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare aggressive non-Hodgkin′s lymphoma that occurs in the brain, spinal cord, meninges or eyes. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma accounts for the vast majority, of which non-GCB subtype is more common. The median survival time of untreated patients is only 3 months. Surgical removal of the tumor alone has no obvious survival benefit. Early single use of whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) yields a high remission rate, but the duration is short, and delayed neurotoxicity is an important complication, especially for elderly patients. Subsequent studies found that high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy combined with WBRT significantly improved the prognosis of this disease. However, combination therapy increases the risk of neurotoxicity, and this strategy has been questioned. In recent years, reduced-dose WBRT and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation have gradually replaced the previous standard-dose WBRT. This article reviews the progress on the radiotherapy for PCNSL.