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Temozolomide in relapsed pediatric brain tumors: 14 cases from a single center
Child's Nervous System, 08/30/2011
Clinical Article
Akyuz C et al. – Relapsed brain tumors in childhood have an unfavorable prognosis. These data suggest that temozolomide might be an active agent against recurrent medulloblastoma. Although overall objective response rate was low, further multicentric studies with temozolomide may be warranted in children with recurrent brain tumors.
Methods- Files of 14 children treated at the hospital between 2005 and 2010 with the diagnoses of relapsed brain tumors were reviewed for pathological characteristics, treatment results, and outcomes.
- Median age at relapse was 8 years (range, 1.08–23; F/M, 5/9).
- Diagnoses included medulloblastoma (n=5), atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (n=2), ependymoma (n=2), glioneuronal tumor (n=1), malignant neoplasm (n=1), pontine glioma (n=1), astrocytoma grade III (n=1), and glioblastoma multiforme (n=1).
- All patients except the one with pontine glioma had undergone surgical resection, and all had prior adjuvant chemotherapy.
- 12 out of 14 patients had received radiotherapy.
- Median number of temozolomide courses was 5.0 (range, 1–24).
- Objective response rate in the authors' patients was 35.7% (three complete responses, one partial response, and one minor response).
- Stable disease achieved in 14.3% of patients and 50% had progressive disease.
- Median survival time was 8 months (range, 1–55).
- At the end of the study, three patients were alive.
- Hematological toxicity was seen in 30.8% of all courses.