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Chemoradiotherapy for primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is associated with a considerable risk of long‑term neurotoxicity. The present study aimed to assess the health‑related quality of life (HRQOL) of outpatients with PCNSL who have received radiotherapy and high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) chemotherapy, and to determine the factors that cause a decline in HRQOL and interfere with home living. A total of 37 patients were surveyed 0.9‑14.2 years after their initial diagnosis and treatment. Each patient completed a multi‑part HRQOL questionnaire that was used to examine the associations of HRQOL scores with leukoencephalopathy, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scores, age, history of recurrence and HDMTX‑based chemoradiotherapy. The results demonstrated that the history of recurrence, number of cycles of MTX chemotherapy and age affected the development of leukoencephalopathy. Reductions in KPS score were associated with a history of recurrence (P=0.03), but not with leukoencephalopathy (P=0.8). KPS score, leukoencephalopathy and age were significantly associated with a decline in HRQOL score. A decline in the HRQOL associated with a reduction in KPS score was also observed by multivariate analyses. Deterioration of the HRQOL among outpatients with PCNSL post‑chemoradiotherapy was significantly associated with older age (≥66 years) and decreased KPS score. Older patients with a history of recurrence had a higher risk for deteriorated QOL due to development of leukoencephalopathy. Therefore, it is recommended that clinicians monitor the KPS score among outpatients with PCNSL. QOL examination for older patients with a lower KPS score was found to be particularly important for identifying any obstacles for home living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-grade glioma (LGG) is often encountered in relatively young individuals, including women of childbearing age. Notably, case series describing pregnant women with LGG have been reported in the literature. The present study reported a case of pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) requiring tumor resection during pregnancy. The patient had a history of -knife radiotherapy for a brainstem tumor 17 years previously. The histological diagnosis was unclear. The tumor had remained stable following radiosurgery for 17 years, including during her first pregnancy. However, rapid tumor growth around the fourth ventricle occurred at week 25 of her second pregnancy. Therefore, an urgent tumor resection was performed despite the pregnancy. Partial resection was performed since the tumor had infiltrated the brainstem. The histological diagnosis was PA. The residual tumor volume decreased gradually following the delivery. Immunostaining of the tumor for the expression of progesterone receptor revealed focal staining. It is possible that reproductive factors, including specific hormonal changes during pregnancy, affected the tumor growth. The present study described this rare case of PA, which exhibited rapid growth and required urgent surgery during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]