Primary central nervous system lymphomas at a tertiary academic hospital in Johannesburg

Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Primary central nervous system lymphomas at a tertiary academic hospital in Johannesburg
 
Creator Laudin, Garrick E. Philip, Vinitha Pather, Sugeshnee Lakha, Atul Jassat, Romana Waja, Faadil Govind, Ahshish Goqwana, Lindokuhle Patel, Moosa
 
Subject Clinical Haematology; Oncology Human immunodeficiency virus; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; large B-cell lymphomas; immune-privileged sites; central nervous system.
Description Background: Primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSL) are diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL), which affect multiple regions of the neuroaxis, including the brain parenchyma, the orbits, cranial nerves and leptomeninges, without systemic disease. The aim of this study was to review the clinical characteristics as well as the outcome of patients referred to a tertiary academic hospital in Johannesburg (South Africa) with a presumed PCNSL diagnosis based on histology, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and neuroimaging.Methods: This retrospective record review at a tertiary academic hospital in Soweto (Johannesburg), included patients aged ≥ 17 years referred with a presumed diagnosis of PCNSL, based on biopsy-confirmed PCNSL, CSF analysis or neuroimaging, between January 2010 and December 2022. Patient characteristics (laboratory, clinical, treatment(s), outcome) were analysed in three groups based on diagnostic certainty for PCNSL (diagnostic, suspicious, consistent).Results: The cohort comprised 14 patients, with most cases occurring in People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLWH) (n = 10; 71%), with equal representation of male and female patients. The median age of diagnosis was 43 years (17–64), with PLWH diagnosed at an earlier mean age of 40 compared to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative patients (mean age 52). Both surviving patients received between 6 and 8 cycles of high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX), with one receiving an autologous stem cell transplant. Over half (57%) of the cohort died with a median overall survival of two months (95% CI 1.3–2.6).Conclusion: Establishing a PCNSL diagnosis without histology often relies on several ancillary investigations. The high mortality and poor median survival highlight the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment.Contribution: This case series highlights the the complexities of a PCNSL diagnosis in PLWH and will hopefully inspire future work in this area.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2025-07-04
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Retrospective record review
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/jcmsa.v3i1.135
 
Source Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa; Vol 3, No 1 (2025); 7 pages 2960-110X 3105-4331
 
Language eng
 
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The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/135/615 https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/135/616 https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/135/617 https://jcmsa.org.za/index.php/jcmsa/article/view/135/618
 
Coverage Africa; South Africa; Gauteng; Johannesburg; Soweto 2010 - 2022 —
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Garrick E. Laudin, Vinitha Philip, Sugeshnee Pather, Atul Lakha, Romana Jassat, Faadil Waja, Ahshish Govind, Lindokuhle Goqwana, Moosa Patel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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