Guidelines for the treatment of primary central nervous system lymphomas in immunocompetent patients.

Abstract

The best therapeutic management in primary central nervous system lymphomas remains to be defined because of current knowledge on these malignancies results from small retrospective series with a short follow-up, a limited number of prospective studies with some methodological pitfalls and a single published randomised trial. This review focuses on the current therapeutic approaches, most commonly used drugs, role of intrathecal chemotherapy, and indications for consolidation radiotherapy, providing recommendations for ordinary clinical practice. Some important therapeutic issues, such as the management of meningeal and intraocular lymphomas, as well as the relevance of salvage therapy as a playground for evaluation of new drugs are also analysed. Finally, the main open questions, as well as current and expected investigation trends are discussed.