OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical characteristics, therapeutic outcomes and prognostic factors of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL).

METHODSClinical records of 31 cases of PCNSL were collected, the clinical charactenstics were analyzed retrospectively. Survival curves were estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival methodology and statistical significance of continuous variables was assessed via the Cox proportional hazard model.

RESULTSThe median age was 52 years, with a ratio of male to female 1:1. Headache/dizzy/limb numbness were the most common presentation and the lesions of PCNSL were primarily located at the frontal, parietal, temporal lobes and corpus callosum. All the cases were pathologically diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 6 cases were the type of germinal center (GC) and 25 cases of non-GC type, after craniotomy operation and biopsy. Among 31 cases, 17 patients accepted the combined treatment, 3 patients underwent simple chemotherapy, 8 patients received simple radiotherapy, the other patients accepted support therapy. The median follow-up for surviving patients was 24 months. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 80.6%, 55.1%, and 36.4%, respectively. The median overall survival time in the combined treatment group was significantly longer than that in simply radiotherapy. There was no significant difference in OS between the groups with and without rituximab. ECOG PS≥2 and elevated serum LDH predicted inferior survival.

CONCLUSIONThe clinical manifectation of PCNSL is various and complicated, and for the time being there is no optimal treatment scheme. The overall survival time of the combined treatment is longer than that in simply radiotherapy. ECOG PS≥2 and elevated serum LDH often are poor prognostic factors.