Intensive chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation in primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSLs). Therapeutic outcomes in real life—experience of the French Network

We analysed the therapeutic outcomes of all consecutive patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) registered in the prospective French database for PCNSL and treated with intensive chemotherapy (IC) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (IC-ASCT) between 2011 and November 2019 (271 patients recruited, 266 analysed). In addition, treatment-related complications of thiotepa-based IC-ASCT were analysed from the source files of 85 patients from 3 centers. Patients had received IC-ASCT either in first-line treatment ( n = 147) or at relapse ( n = 119). The median age at IC-ASCT was 57 years (range: 22–74). IC consisted of thiotepa-BCNU ( n = 64), thiotepa-busulfan ( n = 24), BCNU-etoposide-cytarabine-melphalan (BEAM, n = 36) and thiotepa-busulfan-cyclophosphamide ( n = 142). In multivariate analysis, BEAM and ASCT beyond the first relapse were adverse prognostic factors for relapse risk. The risk of treatment-related mortality was higher for ASCT performed beyond the first relapse and seemed higher for thiotepa-busulfan-cyclophosphamide. Thiotepa-BCNU tends to result in a higher relapse rate than thiotepa-busulfan-cyclophosphamide and thiotepa-busulfan. This study confirms the role of IC-ASCT in first-line treatment and at first-relapse PCNSL (5-year overall survival rates of 80 and 50%, respectively). The benefit/risk ratio of thiotepa-busulfan/thiotepa-busulfan-cyclophosphamide-ASCT could be improved by considering ASCT earlier in the course of the disease and dose adjustment of the IC.