Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a rare subtype of B-cell lymphoma characterized by aggressive disease progression with a high incidence of central nervous system (CNS) involvement. We retrospectively analyzed 16 patients with de novo IVLBCL treated at our hospital between 2004 and 2018 with either standard therapy plus CNS-directed therapy or standard therapy alone. CNS-directed therapy was associated with a significantly better 2-year CNS-free survival (100% vs. 63%, p = 0.0191), despite no significant effects on progression-free or overall survival. Further studies should assess CNS-focused treatment in patients with IVLBCL with or without primary CNS involvement.
Keywords: central nervous system; high‐dose chemotherapy; intravascular large B‐cell lymphoma; methotrexate; programmed death‐ligand 1.
© 2022 The Authors. eJHaem published by British Society for Haematology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.