MGMT expression in primary central nervous system diffuse large B cell lymphoma and its relationship with prognosis

Objective: To study the correlation between MGMT expression, clinicopathologic features and post-chemotherapy prognosis in patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PCNS-DLBCL). Methods: MGMT expression was detected in 76 cases of PCNS-DLBCL by EnVision method with immunohistochemical staining.Follow-up data including treatment response and overall survival time, were analyzed. Results: The rate of MGMT expression in PCNS-DLBCL was 67.1%(51/76). The MGMT expression rate in male patients was higher than that in female(P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that these clinical pathological characteristics affected the overall survival of PCNS-DLBCL patients, including age and Hans algorithm, although no statistical significance was detected(P value was 0.065 and 0.069 respectively). The overall survival of the patients with positive MGMT and aged over 60 years was shorter after chemotherapy than those without chemotherapy (P=0.022). In the patients aged over 60 years, the prognosis of MGMT-positive patients was significantly better than MGMT-negative patients (P=0.044). Conclusions: The expression of MGMT is more commonly found in male patients. In the patients aged over 60 years with the same therapy, the prognosis is better in the MGMT-negative ones. Detection of MGMT protein expression can provide some guidance in choice of treatment modalities in PCNS-DLBCL patients.