title: Clinicopathological features of primary central nervous system lymphoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the anatomic location, immunologic, and clinicopathological features of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL).
  
  
  METHODS
  From May 1993 to December 2004, at Shohada Hospital, Tehran, Iran, the clinical data of 110 PCNSL patients, including the age, sex, duration of symptoms, radiological findings, site of tumors, immune status, and history of immunocompromised state (such as organ transplantation, radiotherapy, steroid therapy or AIDS) were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients with PCNSL was 47.02 +/- 15.8 years. There were 42 female and 68 male patients. One hundred and six cases (96.3%) were diagnosed as B-cell lymphoma. Most of the PCNSL in our study are unifocal. More than 70% of tumors were in a cerebral hemisphere and periventricular location, usually involving the corpus callosum or basal ganglia. No patients had been in immunocompromised states. Symptoms of increased intracranial pressure or changes in personality, vision, or motor function are most common. Seizures are seen in approximately 10% of patients. The number of PCNSL cases showed a gradual rise in incidence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this single hospital 12-year survey of PCNSL are in agreement with data from other single institutions and regional surveys concerning clinical features. However, in contrast with the literature, most of our patients were immunocompetent. The age at diagnosis is also lower than in most reports.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shohada Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Madani, PO Box 16765-3156, Tehran, Iran. Tel. +98 9121860059. Fax. +98 21 22719012. E-mail: madani_68@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moradi
authors.forename: Aram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tajedini
authors.forename: Abbasali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehrabian
authors.forename: Sohrab
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Semnani
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khodabakhshi
authors.forename: Noormohammad
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arefian
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afrakhteh
authors.forename: Kayvan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Keshvari
authors.forename: Parvin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yavari
authors.forename: Manouchehr
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Madani-Civi