Treating Patients With Recurrent PCNSL With Carboplatin/BBBD and Adding Rituxan To The Treatment Regimen
Status:
Terminated
Trial end date:
2010-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, can locate cancer cells and either kill
them or deliver cancer-killing substances to them without harming normal cells. Drugs used in
chemotherapy, such as carboplatin, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, etoposide phosphate, and
cytarabine, use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or
die. Osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption uses certain drugs to open the blood vessels
around the brain and allow anticancer substances to be delivered directly to the brain tumor.
Chemoprotective drugs such as sodium thiosulfate may protect normal cells from the side
effects of carboplatin-based chemotherapy. Combining rituximab with chemotherapy given with
osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption plus sodium thiosulfate may kill more cancer cells.
PURPOSE: Phase II trial to study the effectiveness of combining rituximab with combination
chemotherapy given with osmotic blood-brain barrier disruption plus sodium thiosulfate in
treating patients who have refractory or recurrent primary CNS lymphoma.