title: Primary lymphomas of the central nervous system: patterns of failure and factors that influence survival.
abstract: Primary lymphomas of the CNS are rare tumors accounting for less than 2% of all extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The treatment for this disease has been disappointing. Radiation therapy and surgery have produced consistently poor control of this disease, with a median survival of 15 months. We have reviewed ten cases of primary lymphoma of the CNS treated at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston) from 1968 to 1981. All patients had biopsy-proven CNS lymphomas without systemic disease at presentation. In our series, control of CNS lymphoma was seen only in patients receiving craniospinal radiation or CNS-penetrating chemotherapy.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy