ORPHA:46135
Primary central nervous system lymphoma
Also known as: PCNSL · Primary CNS lymphoma · Primary brain lymphoma
Publications
15,645
97th percentile
Trials
227
Interventional, condition-specific
Researchers
1,493
Distinct authors in sample
Gene link
—
Readiness
2/6
Stages with a signal
Clinical definition (Orphanet)
Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare nervous system tumor, predominantly due to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, that involves brain, leptomeninges, eyes, or rarely spinal cord, in the absence of systemic diffusion at the time of diagnosis. It is characterized by a solitary tumor that, depending on its location, can lead to a variety of symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting (and other signs of raised intracranial pressure), focal neurologic deficits, neuropsychiatric and ocular symptoms, and personality changes.
How rare: 1-9 / 1 000 000 — roughly one to nine people per million. In a city the size of Kolkata, perhaps a few dozen.
Cross-references
Joined from Mondo / Orphanet. MeSH labels may enter searches; UMLS / OMIM / NCIT are stored for reference.
- MONDO:0002571
- UMLS:C0280803
- NCIT:C9301
Additional Mondo synonyms (9)
CNS lymphoma · central nervous system lymphoma · lymphoma of central nervous system · malignant lymphomas of CNS · malignant lymphomas of the CNS · microglioma · primary CNS lymphoma · primary brain lymphoma · primary central nervous system lymphoma
Research stages
Trial readiness signals
Where this condition sits on an open-data research pipeline — not how close a treatment is, and not medical advice. Empty stages often mean “not in these databases under this Mondo ID,” not “impossible.”
2/6 stages with a signal
An interventional trial matched this condition name on ClinicalTrials.gov — see trials below.
- Gene identifiedNot found
No GenCC disease–gene assertion in this build
- LiteraturePresent
15,645 matched papers (10,139 in last 10 years) Source
- Phenotype characterisedNot found
No HPO disease–phenotype associations via Monarch for these Mondo IDs
- Animal modelNot found
No Alliance genotype “model of” associations via Monarch for these Mondo IDs
- Orphan designationNot found
No FDA or EMA orphan-drug designation matched this disease via UMLS or preferred name Source
- Interventional trialPresent
227 matched on ClinicalTrials.gov (70 recruiting in sample)
Biology
Genes and phenotypes
Gene–disease validity from GenCC, plus phenotypes and animal models joined from Monarch Initiative via Mondo ID — not a clinical diagnosis aid.
Do we know what causes it?
Not yet — the cause hasn't been pinned down in GenCC.
No strong gene–disease assertion joined for this Orphanet entity.
Phenotypes (Monarch / HPO)
None returned for this Mondo ID. That often means “not linked under this ID,” not “no clinical features.”
Animal models (Monarch / Alliance)
None returned for this Mondo ID. Empty here is not proof that no model organism work exists under another name or gene.
Monarch fetch 2026-07-29
Therapies
Designations, candidates, and chemicals
FDA OOPD and EMA orphan designations, Open Targets clinical candidates, and CTD chemical associations via MyDisease.info. These never change the interventional-trial headline.
Orphan designation (FDA · EMA)
No designation matched this disease via UMLS or preferred name on the FDA OOPD mirror or EMA orphan register. Absence here is not proof that none exists under another wording.
Open Targets candidates
97
Drugs / clinical candidates · MONDO_0002571
- BUSULFAN·phase 3
- CARBOPLATIN·phase 3
- CARMUSTINE·phase 3
- CYTARABINE·phase 3
- DEXAMETHASONE·phase 3
- ETOPOSIDE·phase 3
- IFOSFAMIDE·phase 3
- METHOTREXATE·phase 3
- ORELABRUTINIB·phase 3
- PROCARBAZINE·phase 3
- RITUXIMAB·phase 3
- TEMOZOLOMIDE·phase 3
- THIOTEPA·phase 3
- TIRABRUTINIB·phase 3
- ABEMACICLIB·phase 2
CTD chemicals (MyDisease.info)
No CTD chemical associations returned for this Mondo ID.
Literature
Is anyone studying this?
15,645
15,645 papers — among the better-studied rare conditions, though still a fraction of common-disease literature (breast cancer: over 700,000). Median papers in the last 10 years for a rare disease in this dataset (publications denominator n=3967) is 59.
15,645 papers since the earliest indexed year in this search — median last-10-year count for a rare disease in this dataset is 59 (publications denominator n=3967).
10,139 in the last 10 years · high confidence · 97th percentile (publications denominator)
Phrase hits: 15,645 · MeSH hits: 0
Who's working on it?
1,493
Distinct author names in 200 sampled papers — named people below.
Who's working on it?
People publishing on this condition (sampled Europe PMC records). Affiliation is the most recent found in that sample.
- 01Wang X7 papers · 2026
Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Lymphoma, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 02Liu Y6 papers · 2026
Department of Neurosurgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 03Zhang Y6 papers · 2026
The First Clinical Medicine College, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 04Li J5 papers · 2026
Department of Hematology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, ChangChun, Jilin, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 05Liu J5 papers · 2026
Department of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, 600 Tianhe Road, Guangzhou, 510630, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 06Schorb E5 papers · 2026
Department of Medicine I, Medical Centre - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Papers in Europe PMC - 07Wang H5 papers · 2026
Department of Hematology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 08Wang J5 papers · 2026
Department of Neurosurgery, The National Key Clinical Specialty, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, The Neurosurgery Institute of Guangdong Province, Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 09Zhang M5 papers · 2026
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No.79, Qingchun Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Papers in Europe PMC - 10Zhang X5 papers · 2026
Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
Papers in Europe PMC
Clinical research
Is a treatment being tested?
227
interventional trials for this specific condition
227 interventional trials matched this specific condition name; 70 currently recruiting in our sample.
Data as of 11 September 2026
227 interventional trials — more than 77.2% of diseases in the trials denominator have none at all (5501 of 7126; this disease is at the 99.4th percentile).
high confidence · 99.4th percentile (trials denominator)
Recruiting interventional trials
From the matched ClinicalTrials.gov set
227 interventional trials matched after quoted-phrase search and title/condition post-filter.
- NCT06475235·RECRUITING·Pembrolizumab + Chemotherapy in Newly Diagnosed PCNSL
Not reviewed·Conditions: Lymphoma · Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05347641·NOT YET RECRUITING·Penpulimab Combined With RMA Treatment of Primary Diagnosis of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06175000·RECRUITING·Maintenance Obinutuzumab in Treating Patients With Central Nervous System Lymphoma Who Have Achieved a Complete or Partial Response
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07014943·RECRUITING·High-Dose Gemcitabine, Busulfan, and Thiotepa Followed by ASCT in Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL)·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05625594·RECRUITING·Intracerebroventricular Administration of CD19-CAR T Cells (CD19CAR-CD28-CD3zeta-EGFRt-expressing Tn/Mem T-lymphocytes) for the Treatment of Central Nervous System Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07082868·RECRUITING·A Study of Epcoritamab and Ibrutinib in People With Central Nervous System Lymphoma (CNSL)
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) · Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma · Relapsed Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma · Refractory Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07410520·RECRUITING·PD-1 Inhibitor Combined With Rituximab, Methotrexate, and Orelabrutinib (PD-1i+RMO) for Newly Diagnosed PCNSL and SCNSL.
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) · Secondary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (SCNSL)·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05209620·RECRUITING·Orelabrutinib Combined With Pemetrexed For Relapsed/Refractory Central Nervous System Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05351593·RECRUITING·Tafasitamab Plus Lenalidomide in Relapsed CNS Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: CNS Lymphoma · Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma · Secondary Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06931652·RECRUITING·Study of Epcoritamab in R/R Primary Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma of the CNS Treated With Lenalidomide and Rituximab
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary CNS Lymphoma (PCNSL)·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06827782·ENROLLING BY INVITATION·Cord Blood-derived CAR-NK Cells Targeting CD19 for Refractory/Relapsed Central Nervous System Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: Refractory/Recurrent Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05600660·RECRUITING·Orelabrutinib,Rituximab and Methotrexate in Newly Diagnosed Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT04421560·RECRUITING·Pembrolizumab, Ibrutinib and Rituximab in PCNSL
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma · Recurrent Cancer · Refractory Cancer · Relapsed Cancer·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05131022·RECRUITING·A Study of NX-5948 in Adults With Relapsed/Refractory B-cell Malignancies
Not reviewed·Conditions: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) · Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL) · Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) · Follicular Lymphoma (FL)·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07608731·NOT YET RECRUITING·Golcadomide With Pemetrexed, Rituximab, and Dexamethasone for Relapsed and Refractory CNS Lymphomas
Not reviewed·Conditions: Large B-cell Lymphoma · Central Nervous System Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
Observational and natural-history studies
27 observational studies match this condition. These do not test a treatment and are not counted in the interventional-trial headline, but they are genuine research: natural-history work often defines the endpoints needed for a future rare-disease trial, and families may be able to enroll.
Recruiting or not-yet-recruiting
- NCT03375619·RECRUITING·Long-term Follow-up Study of Patients Receiving CAR-T Cells
Not reviewed·Conditions: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia · Lymphomas Non-Hodgkin's B-Cell · Lymphoma, Small Lymphocytic · Mantle Cell Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT04006561·RECRUITING·Prospective Neurobehavioral Functions in Newly-diagnosed Patients With Primary CNS Lymphoma Treated With Hyperfractionated Conformal Whole-brain Radiation Therapy Plus Simultaneous Integrated Boost
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary CNS Lymphoma · Brain Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05828628·RECRUITING·CLIMB: CNS Lymphoma Imaging and Molecular Biomarkers Study
Not reviewed·Conditions: CNS Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT05011045·RECRUITING·Neurocognitive Outcomes After Whole Brain Radiation Therapy for Hematologic Malignancies
Not reviewed·Conditions: Central Nervous System Lymphoma · Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm · Leukemia · Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT07188077·RECRUITING·Metabolic and Immunomic Differential Analysis of Primary Central Nervous System Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) · Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06263361·RECRUITING·Improving Safety and Accuracy of Stereotactic Brain Biopsies in Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma.
Not reviewed·Conditions: Cerebral Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
- NCT06755619·RECRUITING·CtDNA for Early Response Assessment in PCNSL Treated with 1st Line Curative Intent (NLG-PCNSL-01)
Not reviewed·Conditions: Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) Lymphoma·Matched via name phrase
Other registries (secondary)
Broader net from EU CTIS, ISRCTN, and ICTRP when available — deduped against ClinicalTrials.gov IDs already counted above. Dual-model LLM relevance gates what we keep. These rows are not added to the interventional headline.
raw 67 · after dedupe 67 · already on CT.gov 0 · kept 0 · parent 0 · uncertain 67 · dropped 0 · fetched 2026-07-29
Source notes: ictrp: Error: ICTRP public search unavailable (WHO portal is SPA-only; SOAP needs partnership). Tried: https://apps.who.int/tri
No secondary-registry studies passed dual-model relevance for this condition name (after dedupe).
Uncertain / not reviewed (67)
- ctis·2025-523389-26-00·Authorised, recruiting·A Phase 3, Multi-regional, Open-label, Randomized Study of Tirabrutinib vs Rituximab and Temozolomide in Participants with Relapsed/Refractory Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2025-521144-38-00·Authorised, ongoing·The CAROLYN Trial: Lisocabtagene Maraleucel as First-Line Therapy for Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) in Transplant-Ineligible Patients
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-519046-79-00·Authorised·Chemoimmunotherapy in conjunction with blood-brain-barrier opening in patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed primary central nervous system lymphoma
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-516773-69-00·Cancelled·Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of Berubicin in the treatment of central nervous system lymphomas- BERUBICIN
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-512758-62-00·Cancelled·[18F]-Fludarabine PET/MR Imaging for the Assessment of Newly-diagnosed Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) Lymphoma : a Pilot PET-MRI Study
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-515331-30-00·Expired·Loc-R01: Randomized Phase IB/II Study of escalating doses of Lenalidomide and Ibrutinib in association with R-MPV as a targeted induction treatment for patients aged 18 to 60 (up to 65 for phase II) with a newly diagnosed Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-511900-17-00·Authorised, recruiting·Dose dense re-challenge of high dose methotrexate (hd-mtx) with glucarpidase (cpg2) for relapsed primary cns lymphoma (pcnsl): A phase 1 trial (METHOGLU)
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-515690-10-00·Expired·A PHASE I/II, MULTI-CENTER, OPEN-LABEL STUDY TO ASSESS THE SAFETY, PHARMACOKINETICS, AND PRELIMINARY EFFICACY OF AN ORALLY AVAILABLE SMALL MOLECULE, CC-99282, ALONE AND IN COMBINATION WITH ANTI-LYMPHOMA AGENTS IN SUBJECTS WITH RELAPSED OR REFRACTORY NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMAS (R/R NHL)
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-513312-95-00·Authorised, ongoing·An Open-Label, Dose Escalation and Dose Expansion Trial Evaluating the Safety, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Clinical Activity of Orally Administered CA-4948 in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2023-510541-25-00·Authorised, ongoing·A Study of NX-5948 in Adults With Relapsed/Refractory B-cell Malignancies
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2022-502790-42-00·Expired·Pilot-trial of methotrexate, tafasitamab (Minjuvi®), lenalidomide (Revlimid®) and rituximab in patients ineligible for HCT-ASCT with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) -MTR²
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-517051-12-00·Authorised, ongoing·HOVON 176: Golcadomide (CC-99282) for relapsed and refractory primary large B-cell lymphoma of the central nervous system and secondary central nervous system lymphoma: a phase 2 study
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2023-505834-84-00·Authorised, ongoing·e-REVRI - A Phase 2 Study evaluating Epcoritamab in subjects with relapsed and refractory primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the CNS treated with Lenalidomide and Rituximab
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-514473-21-00·Expired·Optimizing MATRix as remission induction in PCNSL: De-escalated induction treatment in newly diagnosed primary CNS lymphoma – a randomized phase III trial
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2024-512320-11-00·Authorised, ongoing·Age-adjusted high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation or conventional chemotherapy with R-MP as first-line treatment in elderly primary CNS lymphoma patients – a randomized phase III trial - PRIMA-CNS
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2022-502661-23-00·Cancelled·A phase I/II, multicenter study evaluating the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of point-of-care manufactured GLPG5101 (19CP02) in subjects with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- ctis·2023-509270-37-00·Cancelled·A Phase 1/2 Study of Oral LOXO-305 in Patients with Previously Treated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (CLL/SLL) or Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN17037497·Recruiting·A study of JNJ-95804306 for relapsed or refractory hematological malignancies
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN14974342·Recruiting·A Phase I/IIa trial of NVG-222 in blood cancers
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN49320109·Recruiting·A CAR T trial for amyloid light chain amyloidosis (AL Amyloid)
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN10023611·Recruiting·A study of JNJ-80948543 in combination with other CD3 T-cell engagers in participants with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R B-Cell NHL)
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN17901467·Recruiting·Safety and feasibility of CD19 CAR-T cells in adults with recurrent and hard-to-treat B cell blood cancers
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN15038320·Recruiting·A phase 1b/2 study of JNJ-90014496 in Adult Participants with B-Cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN17666983·No longer recruiting·A Study of JNJ-90009530 in Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (r/r B-NHL)
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
- isrctn·ISRCTN15110275·No longer recruiting·Cell therapy clinical trial of BOXR1030 in GPC3 positive liver, squamous lung, Merkel cell cancer, and myxoid/round cell liposarcoma
skipped — LLM skipped (--skip-llm)
Where to find support
Condition-specific patient organisations, when Orphanet lists them, are on the disease’s Orphanet page. We also link umbrella groups that support undiagnosed and ultra-rare families.
Orphanet entry for Primary central nervous system lymphoma — check Associations / patient organisations on that page.
India — NPRD
Last verified 2026-07-26This ORPHAcode is not on our curated NPRD list (direct or Mondo-parent match). That does not decide clinical eligibility; families in India should ask a notified Centre of Excellence about current coverage.
Hand-curated for this project. ORPHAcode mappings are best-effort and may be incomplete or imprecise for umbrella categories. Parent (Mondo) matches mean the policy lists a broader category — confirm eligibility with a Centre of Excellence. Financial entitlements summarised from public policy statements and may change. This is not official government guidance.
How we counted this
Europe PMC query (preferred label + any corrected label + Orphanet and Mondo exact synonyms, stoplisted; unioned with resolved MeSH labels when available). UMLS / OMIM / NCIT cross-references are stored on the overview but are not added to the query string.
"Primary central nervous system lymphoma" OR "PCNSL" OR "Primary CNS lymphoma" OR "Primary brain lymphoma" OR "CNS lymphoma" OR "central nervous system lymphoma" OR "lymphoma of central nervous system" OR "lymphoma of the central nervous system" OR "malignant lymphomas of CNS" OR "malignant lymphomas of the CNS" OR "microglioma"
ClinicalTrials.gov query (quoted phrases + MeSH via query.cond, plus recall-expansion terms when used):
"Primary central nervous system lymphoma" OR "PCNSL" OR "Primary CNS lymphoma" OR "Primary brain lymphoma" OR "CNS lymphoma" OR "central nervous system lymphoma" OR "lymphoma of central nervous system" OR "lymphoma of the central nervous system" OR "malignant lymphomas of CNS" OR "malignant lymphomas of the CNS" OR "microglioma"
Interventional trials matched via: phrase (mesh = registered under a MeSH descriptor no name phrase would catch; recall-expansion = gene / selected parent terms used only for trials).
Study-type breakdown: 227 interventional · 27 observational · 0 expanded access. Only interventional studies enter the trial headline.
Query health: ok — strategies attempted: phrase; with hits: phrase
Run this search on ClinicalTrials.gov
Confidence reasoning
- Preferred label is multi-word and distinctive
- No synonyms dropped by stoplist
- No label/synonym collisions with other diseases in this corpus
Ingested 2026-07-27T00:09:36.732Z
