Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| Patients (n=79) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Eligible patients (study population) | 75 | |
| Age, years | 58 (50–66; 23–70) | |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 38 (51%) | |
| Female | 37 (49%) | |
| Disease at enrolment | ||
| CNS involvement at presentation | 32 (43%) | |
| Isolated CNS relapse | 15 (20%) | |
| Concomitant CNS–systemic localisation | 28 (37%) | |
| HBV or HCV seropositivity | 2 (3%) | |
| Symptoms at enrolment | ||
| B symptoms* | 6 (8%) | |
| Motor impairment | 37 (49%) | |
| Sensorial impairment | 25 (33%) | |
| Language impairment | 7 (9%) | |
| Cognitive impairment | 15 (20%) | |
| Sensorial impairment | 12 (16%) | |
| CNS sites of disease | ||
| Brain parenchyma | 34 (45%) | |
| Cerebrospinal fluid or meninges | 8 (11%) | |
| Spinal cord | 2 (3%) | |
| Eyes | 2 (3%) | |
| Brain and cerebrospinal fluid or meninges | 13 (17%) | |
| Brain and eyes | 10 (13%) | |
| Brain, cerebrospinal fluid, and eyes | 6 (8%) | |
| Extra-CNS sites of disease at enrolment | ||
| None | 15 (20%) | |
| Nodal disease (only lymphadenopathies) | 18 (24%) | |
| Extranodal disease (other than CNS) | 18 (24%) | |
| Nodal and extranodal disease | 24 (32%) | |
| Extranodal disease at initial lymphoma diagnosis† | 59 (79%) | |
| IPI | ||
| Age >60 years | 32 (43%) | |
| ECOG-PS >1‡ | 28 (37%) | |
| Number of extranodal organs involved >1 (other than CNS) | 23 (31%) | |
| High LDH serum concentration | 37 (49%) | |
| Advanced stage | 60 (80%) | |
| Low IPI risk | 14 (19%) | |
| Low–intermediate IPI risk | 18 (24%) | |
| High–intermediate IPI risk | 26 (35%) | |
| High IPI risk | 17 (23%) | |
| Previous treatment | 43 (57%) | |
| R-CHOP | 40 (93%) | |
| Other doxorubicin–rituximab (DA-R-EPOCH, R-VACOP) | 2 (5%) | |
| Rituximab–bendamustine | 1 (2%) | |
| Previous CNS prophylaxis (only intrathecal chemotherapy) | 7 (16%) | |
| Refractory to previous treatment (n=43) | 20 (47%) | |
Data are median (IQR; range) or n (%). DA-R-EPOCH=dose-adjusted rituximab, etoposide, prednisolone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin. ECOG-PS=Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status. HBV=hepatitis B virus. HCV=hepatitis C virus. IPI=International Prognostic Index. LDH=lactate dehydrogenase. R-CHOP=rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone. R-VACOP=rituximab, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone.
B symptoms are systemic symptoms—ie, fever of unknown origin, night sweats, and weight loss.
Details on involved extranodal organs are provided in the appendix (p 6).
Median ECOG-PS was 1, with score 0 in 15 (20%) patients, 1 in 32 (43%) patients, 2 in 20 (27%) patients, and 3 in eight (11%) patients.