Rituximab and Yttrium Y 90 Ibritumomab Tiuxetan in Treating Patients With Recurrent Primary CNS Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)

  • Recurrent disease

    • Isolated CNS relapse of systemic NHL allowed
  • Primary CNS lymphoma
• Measurable gadolinium-enhancing lesion on MRI of the brain
• No impaired bone marrow reserve
• No hypocellular bone marrow
• No marked reduction in bone marrow precursors of one or more cell lines (granulocytic, megakaryocytic, erythroid)
• No pleural effusion
• No chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• No AIDS-related lymphoma

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• Adult

Performance status

• Not specified

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• Platelet count > 100,000/mm\^3
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3

Hepatic

• Bilirubin ≤ 2.0 mg/dL

Renal

• Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL

Other

• HIV negative
• No serious nonmalignant disease that would preclude study participation
• No infection
• No anti-murine antibody reactivity*
• No human anti-mouse antibodies
• Not pregnant
• Negative pregnancy test NOTE: *Results must be available prior to study entry for patients who received prior murine antibodies or proteins, other than rituximab

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• See Radiotherapy
• No prior stem cell transplantation
• No prior myeloablative therapies with autologous bone marrow transplantation or peripheral blood stem cell rescue
• No prior failed stem cell collection
• More than 2 weeks since prior filgrastim (G-CSF) or sargramostim (GM-CSF)

Chemotherapy

• No more than 1 prior chemotherapy regimen

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• No prior radioimmunotherapy
• No prior whole-brain radiotherapy
• No prior external beam radiotherapy (involved field or regional) to > 25% of active bone marrow

Surgery

• More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery except diagnostic surgery