A trial looking at high dose methotrexate and glucarpidase for people recently diagnosed with primary lymphoma of the brain or spinal cord

This trial looked at high dose methotrexate with a drug called glucarpidase for people with lymphoma that started in the brain or spinal cord (primary central nervous system lymphoma). This trial was supported by Cancer Research UK.

Primary central nervous system lymphoma is a very rare type of non Hodgkin lymphoma. Doctors usually treat it with high doses of a chemotherapy drug called methotrexate.

In this trial, doctors hoped to give higher doses of methotrexate as they thought it might work better than standard high dose treatment. But higher doses can have harmful side effects such as kidney damage and a severe drop in blood cells causing an increased risk of infection, bleeding problems, tiredness and breathlessness.

Glucarpidase is a drug that breaks down methotrexate in the body very quickly. This means that it might protect you from some of the harmful side effects of high dose methotrexate. Doctors thought it would be safe to have higher doses of methotrexate if you had it with glucarpidase.

The aims of the trial were to find out

• If higher dose methotrexate with glucarpidase was safe

• The highest dose of methotrexate people could have safely with glucarpidase

• How well the treatment worked

• More about the side effects and quality of life