Abstract
Temozolomide is a well-tolerated alkylating agent, that is able to permeate the blood–brain
barrier (BBB), and has additive cytotoxicity when given with radiotherapy (RT). A
phase II trial assessing temozolomide 150 mg/m2/day, for 5 days every 28 days in primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma (PCNSL)
patients with negative human immunodeficienct virus (HIV) serology, Eastern Cooperative
Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS)<4, previously treated with high-dose
methotrexate-containing (HD-MTX) chemotherapy and/or RT was started. Twenty-three
patients were enrolled. Median age was 60 years. Five complete remissions (median
duration 6+ months; range 2–36 months), one partial response, four stable disease
(median duration 7.2 months, range 2–16.5 months), and 13 progressions were observed.
No major toxicities were observed, apart grade 3 vomiting in a single cycle. Main
grade 1–2 toxicities were: 15% nausea, 6% vomiting, 9% fatigue and 9% neurological
symptoms. This is the first prospective trial assessing single-agent activity in PCNSL
at failure. Although some patients had a poor PS and had been heavily pre-treated,
temozolomide yielded 26% objective responses and was well tolerated without any major
toxicity.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
March 11,
2004
Received in revised form:
March 10,
2004
Received:
November 25,
2003
Identification
Copyright
© 2004 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
