Osteopontin in cerebrospinal fluid as diagnostic biomarker for central nervous system lymphoma.

Central nervous system lymphoma (CNSL) is diagnostically challenging. The identification of reliable and easy to measure biomarkers is desirable to facilitate diagnosis. Here, we evaluated the value of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) osteopontin (OPN) as a diagnostic biomarker for CNSL. OPN concentrations in CSF from 37 patients with CNSL (29 with primary CNSL and 8 with secondary CNS involvement of systemic lymphoma) and 36 controls [6 patients with inflammatory CNS disease other than multiple sclerosis (MS), 8 with MS, 9 with glioblastoma (GBM) and 13 healthy controls] were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Non-parametric tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed for determination of diagnostic accuracy. Median CSF OPN level in all CNSL patients was 620 ng/mL and higher than in patients with inflammatory CNS disease (356 ng/mL); P < .05, MS (163 ng/mL); P < .01, GBM (41 ng/mL); P < .01, or healthy controls (319 ng/mL); P < .01. The area under the ROC curve was 0.865 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.745-0.985] for differentiating CNSL and patients with inflammatory CNS disease; 0.956 (95 % CI 0.898-1.000) for CNSL and MS patients; 0.988 (95 % CI 0.964-1.000) for CNSL and GBM patients, and 0.915 (95 % CI 0.834-0.996) for CNSL patients and healthy controls. In multivariate analysis, high CSF OPN level was associated with shorter progression-free (HR 1.61, 95 % CI 1.13-2.31; P = .009) and overall survival (HR 1.52, 95 % CI 1.04-2.21; P = .029). CSF OPN is a potential biomarker in CNSL.

Prognostic impact of intraocular involvement in primary CNS lymphoma: experience from the G-PCNSL-SG1 trial.

The impact of intraocular involvement (IOL) in primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) has not been sufficiently evaluated. Here, we present the analysis of IOL in the only completed randomized phase III trial in PCNSL. The G-PCNSL-SG1 study evaluated the role of whole-brain radiotherapy in primary therapy of PCNSL. Data of the 526 eligible study patients were checked, and clinical characteristics, therapy, and outcome of patients with IOL diagnosed at study inclusion were analyzed. Ophthalmologic examination at study inclusion was performed in 297 patients (56.5 %) of whom IOL was diagnosed in 19 (6.4 %). Clinical characteristics did not significantly differ between patients with IOL (IOL+) and those without (IOL-). The median progression-free survival (PFS) in the IOL+ group was 3.5 months (95 % CI 0.0-7.07) as compared to 8.3 months (95 % CI 4.78-11.78) in the IOL- group (P = 0.004), the median overall survival (OS) was 13.2 months (95 % CI 0.86-25.62) and 20.5 months (95 % CI 15.56-25.5), respectively (P = 0.155). In multivariate analysis, a significantly inferior PFS and OS for IOL+ patients were found. IOL at diagnosis of PCNSL was an independent negative prognostic indicator for PFS and OS in this analysis.

Prognostic impact of B-cell lymphoma 6 in primary CNS lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the prognostic significance of B-cell differentiation status and common B-cell differentiation markers in a post hoc analysis of 119 patients with primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) homogeneously receiving high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX)-based chemotherapy within the prospective G-PCNSL-SG1 trial. METHODS: We evaluated protein expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), BCL6, CD10, and multiple myeloma oncogene 1/interferon regulatory factor 4 (MUM1/IRF4) by immunohistochemistry and analyzed the association with survival. RESULTS: The median follow-up of all patients was 67.5 months. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 10.61 months (95% CI: 4.23-17.00). Median overall survival (OS) was 28.85 months (95% CI: 17.96-39.73). Eighty-nine tumors expressed BCL2 (92.7%), 24 (20.5%) expressed CD10, 60 (54.1%) expressed BCL6, and 87 (79.0%) expressed MUM1/IRF4. On the basis of the Hans algorithm, 80 tumors (73.4%) were classified to the non-germinal center B group, suggesting a post-germinal center origin of PCNSL. Expression of BCL6 (cutoff point 30%), but none of the other markers, was associated with shorter PFS (P = .047) and OS (P = .035). On multivariate analysis, BCL6 expression was associated with shorter PFS (hazard ratio: 1.95, 95% CI: 1.22-3.12, P = .005) but not OS (hazard ratio: 1.85, 95% CI: 0.71-4.80, P = .21). Classification according to Hans algorithm and expression status of the single B-cell markers BCL2, CD10, and MUM1/IRF4 did not correlate with prognosis. CONCLUSION: The findings are limited by the fact that only 23% of all G-PCNSL-SG1 patients could be included in the analysis. If validated in an independent cohort, BCL6 may assume clinical relevance as an unfavorable prognostic biomarker in PCNSL.