Primary lymphoma of the brain: a case report and review of the literature.

A case of primary lymphoma of the brain is presented. The disease is rare and thus firm guidelines for therapy are lacking. Whole-brain irradiation therapy, the accepted treatment of choice, when given to a dose of 5000 rads, is associated with improved survival. However, the overall prognosis is poor due to local recurrence in the central nervous system and the tumor's ability to diffusely infiltrate the meninges. Twenty-six percent of the cases may have positive cerebrospinal fluid cytology. Whether the addition of intrathecal chemotherapy with agents such as methotrexate will improve upon the results obtained with irradiation therapy alone would be an appropriate subject for a cooperative prospective randomized study.