Therapy and outcomes of primary central nervous system lymphoma in the United States: analysis of the National Cancer Database

Although the role of radiation therapy and chemotherapy in primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) has evolved considerably over the past decade, the application of treatment modalities in the community has not been evaluated. We analyzed the use of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and associated overall survival, among 9165 HIV-negative PCSNL cases reported to the US National Cancer Database in 2004-2013. During this time, the proportion of patients receiving chemotherapy significantly increased from 65.6% to 78.8% (P for trend <. 0001), whereas the proportion receiving radiation therapy decreased from 37.6% to 18.8% (P < .0001). Adjusting for the varying distribution of clinical and sociodemographic characteristics by type of treating facility, the risk of not receiving chemotherapy was significantly lower in academic/research cancer programs compared with community programs (adjusted relative risk, 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.62-0.76; P < .0001). Furthermore, omission of chemotherapy was associated with increasing age, comorbidities, black race, and indicators of poor socioeconomic status. Overall survival at 3 years was 37.7% (95% CI, 36.6-38.8) and ranged from 14.1% for patients treated with radiation therapy alone to 51.8% for those who received multiagent chemotherapy. There was evidence of improved survival over time (P for trend =.0002). The disparities in application of chemotherapy for PCNSL underscore the need to provide access to expert management for this rare disease and improve safe delivery of systemic treatment in the community setting, where most older patients receive their care.