Abstract:
Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors in the treatment of relapsed/refractory central nervous system lymphoma (R/R CNSL).
Methods A retrospective analysis of 43 patients with R/R CNSL admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from October 2018 to October 2021, who were treated with BTK inhibitor monotherapy (group A), BTK inhibitor combined with chemotherapy (group B), or BTK inhibitor combined with immunotherapy regimens (group C) was conducted. BTK inhibitors included ibrutinib, zanubrutinib, and obrutinib, with initial doses of (420–560) mg/day, 320 mg/day, and (100–150) mg/day, respectively. After treatment, the efficacy and adverse reactions were analyzed.
Results The objective response rate (ORR) of groups A, B, and C were 44.4%, 85.7%, and 76.9%, respectively. The ORR of group B was higher than that of groups A and C. Patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) had a higher ORR (78.6% vs. 66.7%) than patients with secondary central nervous system lymphoma (SCNSL). Progression-free survival (PFS) (P=0.67) and overall survival (OS) (P=0.77) were not significantly different between patients with PCNSL and SCNSL. Grade 3/4 adverse reactions were mainly leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia.
Conclusions The efficacy of BTK inhibitors as single drugs and combined regimens for patients with R/R CNSL is acceptable, and the adverse reactions are tolerable.