
"I was delighted to take part in a clinical trial as it has the potential to really help others in the future.”
This study looked at combinations of cancer drugs for central nervous system lymphoma. Central nervous system lymphoma is a cancer of the
that starts in the brain or spinal cord. This is CNS lymphoma.
This trial was open for people to join between 2015 and 2019. The team published the results in 2021.
CNS lymphoma is usually a type of non Hodgkin lymphoma called diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). It is a high grade lymphoma. High grade lymphomas generally grow more quickly than low grade lymphomas.
Doctors often treat CNS lymphoma with chemotherapy. Sometimes the chemotherapy doesn’t work or the lymphoma comes back after treatment. In this situation there is no . The researchers tried a new combination of the following cancer drugs:
The aims of the study were to:
The team found that they could give thiotepa with ifosfamide, etoposide and rituximab.
Trial design
This was a and
trial. In total 36 people took part in this trial.
In phase 1 the first few people had a small dose of thiotepa with
ifosfamide, etoposide and rituximab. If all went well then the next few had a higher dose of thiotepa. And so on until the team found the best dose of thiotepa to give with ifosfamide, etoposide and rituximab.
In phase 2 everyone had this dose of thiotepa with ifosfamide, etoposide and rituximab.
Results
The research team wanted to find out how well this combination had helped. To do this they looked at what the intention to treat was when people joined the trial. This is called an . For this analysis there were 27 people. They found that it helped 14 people (52%).
Of these 14 people:
The lymphoma had got worse in 4 people. This is called progressive disease.
The team were unable to include the remaining 9 people for a number of reasons. They include:
The team looked at the length of time people lived without any sign of the lymphoma getting worse. They found it was from 2 months to 6 months.
They also looked at the length of time that people lived after treatment. They found it was from 3 months to 9 months.
Side effects
The team looked at the worst side effects of treatment. The most common of these included:
Conclusion
The team concluded that thiotepa, ifosfamide, etoposide and rituximab can help people with CNS lymphoma:
However they say that for most people the outcome of treatment remains poor and new treatment plans are urgently needed.
Where this information comes from
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Professor Christopher Fox
Adienne
Bloodwise
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
University of Birmingham
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
"I was delighted to take part in a clinical trial as it has the potential to really help others in the future.”