BACKGROUND: CNS involvement in Hodgkin lymphoma is rare. Despite various treatment options, median overall survival is only 13 months after diagnosis of CNS involvement in relapsed/refractory HL.

CASE REPORT: A 29-year-old woman with classical HL (mixed cellularity) in clinical stage IIB was treated with multilineage chemotherapy and radiotherapy without achieving a sustained complete remission. Systemic and CNS progression of HL occurred at the age of 32 years and the patient received 2 cycles of brentuximab vedotin with bendamustine alternating with 2 cycles of high-dose methotrexate-based treatment and achieved partial remission. She then underwent autologous stem cell transplantation followed by brentuximab vedotin consolidation. The disease progressed and the patient died 6 months after the last dose of brentuximab vedotin.

CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a durable response to brentuximab vedotin-based chemotherapy in a patient with refractory Hodgkin lymphoma with CNS involvement. Prognosis of these patients is poor and new treatment options are needed.

Keywords: Central Nervous System, Hodgkin Disease, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols, Brentuximab Vedotin, Central Nervous System Neoplasms, Fatal Outcome, Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography, Salvage Therapy, Transplantation, Autologous