Charles Gaulin on Retiring High-Dose Methotrexate Prophylaxis in Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Charles Gaulin/LinkedIn

Charles Gaulin on Retiring High-Dose Methotrexate Prophylaxis in Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Charles Gaulin, Associate Program Director of the Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship Program and Hematologic Oncologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, shared on LinkedIn:

“Is it time to officially retire high-dose methotrexate prophylaxis in large B-cell lymphoma?

For decades, we have used systemic HD-MTX to prevent secondary CSN relapse in high-risk patients.

But despite wide clinical adoption, it was never validated in prospective randomized trials-and new multi-center data strongly suggests it’s time to move on.

I spoke with Dr. Matthew R. Wilson who led a recently published study pooling data from 1932 ultra-high-risk patients across 56 global sites.

3-Year CNS Relapse Rate: 9.3% (No HD-MTX)vs. 8.1% (HD-MTX) – no statistically significant difference.

Isolated CNS Relapse Rate: 5.9% vs. 5.7% -virtually identical. High-Risk Subgroups (e.g., Testicular Involvement):

Even historically ‘mandatory’ subgroups showed no significant benefit in preventing isolated CNS events (6.1% vs. 6.3%).

What is your center’s current approach to CNS prophylaxis in DLBCL?

Are you ready to omit HD-MTX PPx in all patients?

Discussion on Blood Cancers Today.

Title: High-Dose Methotrexate as CNS Prophylaxis in Ultra High-Risk Large B-Cell Lymphoma: An International Multicenter Analysis

Authors: Matthew R. Wilson, Katharine L. Lewis, Amy A. Kirkwood, Kate Cwynarski, Chan Y. Cheah, Tarec C. El-Galaly, Diego Villa, et al., Toby A. Eyre

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Charles Gaulin on Retiring High-Dose Methotrexate Prophylaxis in Large B-Cell Lymphoma