Brain and Central Nervous System Tumors
Conditions
Keywords
recurrent childhood ependymoma, childhood infratentorial ependymoma, childhood supratentorial ependymoma
Brief summary
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as etoposide, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well etoposide works in treating young patients with ependymoma.
Detailed description
OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the response rate in young patients with relapsing and/or refractory ependymoma treated with a rapid schedule of intravenous etoposide. Secondary * Determine the possibility of second surgery or additional radiotherapy in these patients. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive etoposide IV over 1 hour on days 1-3, 8-10, and 15-17. Treatment repeats every 28 days for up to 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients whose tumor becomes resectable after courses 3 or 6 undergo surgical resection. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for approximately 5 years. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: At least 14 patients will be accrued for this study.
Interventions
DRUGetoposide
PROCEDUREconventional surgery
Sponsors
Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group
Study design
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
No minimum to 21 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: * Histologically confirmed intracranial ependymoma at first, second, or third relapse * Anaplastic (malignant) or low-grade ependymoma (cellular, papillary, clear cell, or mixed variants) * Unequivocal evidence of tumor recurrence or progression by MRI scan after failing conventional treatment (e.g., primary surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy) for initial or recurrent disease * Unresectable disease OR not amenable to complete surgical resection * Measurable enhancing or non-enhancing disease on baseline scan performed within the past 2 weeks * Patients who have undergone prior surgery must have residual measurable disease PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: * Lansky performance status 30-100% * Life expectancy ≥ 8 weeks * Absolute neutrophil count \> 1,000/mm\^3 * Platelet count \> 100,000/mm\^3 * Serum total bilirubin normal * AST \< 2 times upper limit of normal * No unrelated medical condition (e.g., renal or liver impairment) that would preclude chemotherapy treatment * No active infection * No known HIV positivity PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: * See Disease Characteristics * No radiotherapy within the past 6 weeks * No chemotherapy within the past 4 weeks * Prior IV etoposide allowed
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Response rate by MRI after course 3 | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Second surgery or additional radiotherapy in responding patients as assessed by MRI scan after course 3 or 6 | — |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed