Palliative and end-of-life symptoms management for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Background: This study aimed to investigate diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma-specific symptoms in the last 12 weeks before death and to describe current palliative care. Materials & methods: A retrospective study included 80 pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma patients diagnosed between January 2018 and December 2019. Results: The most frequently encountered symptoms were headache, gait disturbance, vomiting, dysphagia, sensory loss, seizures and constipation. Steroids were used in 96% of patients with a high success rate, as well as analgesics (67.5%), antiemetics (59%), neuropathic medication (42.5%) and anticonvulsants (37.5%). Re-irradiation improved symptoms in 50% of patients. Conclusion: Steroids were efficient in managing many symptoms, with tolerated side effects. The symptomatic treatment succeeded in relieving end-of-life symptoms. Re-irradiation should be considered a good palliative tool in addition to regular symptomatic treatment.

This study aimed to describe symptoms in 80 patients with aggressive brain tumors in the brain stem, as well as proper management of the symptoms at the end of life. The symptoms encountered were headache, imbalance during walking, vomiting and fits. They were managed successfully with steroids, painkillers, nausea and vomiting medications and anti-fit medication. Giving radiotherapy for a second time improved symptoms in 50% of patients, and steroids can be used efficiently to improve the misery of these patients. These data can help to put a strategy for managing these devastating symptoms in the end-of-life period.

Prognostic factors and outcome of pineoblastoma: 10 years single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: The survival of pineoblastoma patients is low, particularly in infants and those with metastatic disease. This study aimed to analyze the prognostic factors affecting the outcome of Pineoblastoma in different age groups. METHODS: A retrospective study included 33 patients. Twenty-two patients older than 3 years had upfront surgery, followed by induction CSI then 6 cycles of chemotherapy. Eleven patients younger than 3 years underwent surgery, followed by induction chemotherapy then radiation therapy. Focal irradiation (54 Gy) was administrated in six patients, and CSI (23.4 Gy) with booster dose 30.6 Gy to the tumor bed in two patients followed by 4 cycles of chemotherapy. RESULTS: Patient's age showed a significant impact on the outcome (P value = 0.001 for EFS and 0.002 for OS). The metastases' presence did not impact the outcome negatively. The survival of patients with metastatic disease did not differ between age groups. However, age had a significant impact on the outcome of M0 disease, with 3-year EFS and OS of 65.3% and 74%, respectively, in the older group compared to 0% for both rates in younger patients. CSI showed a positive impact on survival. For all cases, the 3-year OS and EFS were 46.7% and 44.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A multimodality approach is needed to treat this aggressive disease. Inadequate dose intensity affected our patients' outcome negatively. A more aggressive approach using high-dose chemotherapy or CSI may be required to improve infantile pineoblastoma's dismal outcome. Focal radiotherapy is not an efficacious treatment in infants due to its high-metastatic potential. Molecular typing should be considered to label patients who need a more intensified approach.

Pediatric low grade focal brainstem glioma: outcomes of different treatment strategies and prognostic factors.

Background: This study explores the prognostic factors and outcomes of different treatment modalities in focal brain stem glioma (FBSG). Materials & methods: Pediatric FBSG patients diagnosed during 2010-2017 were retrospectively reviewed for clinical and therapeutic data. Results: A total of 71 cases were identified and the median age was 6.4 years. The 5-year overall- and progression-free survival were 74.5 and 70.6%, respectively. Radiotherapy was the main line of treatment (66.2%) and there were no survival differences between radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surveillance groups. Two independent poor prognostic factors were identified on multivariate analysis: age <8 years and cervicomedullary tumor site (p = 0.02 for both). Conclusion: Surveillance, radiotherapy and chemotherapy have comparable clinical outcomes in pediatric FBSG.

Does Salvage Chemotherapy Regimen Intensity Embark on Clearance of Bone Marrow Neuroblastoma?

Introduction: Neuroblastoma (NBL) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. It accounts for 15% of the deaths from cancer in the pediatric age group. Approximately half of the newly diagnosed children are at "high risk" (HR) of treatment failure. This study aim was to evaluate the impact of salvage chemotherapy ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) versus TC (topotecan/cyclophosphamide) when administered to NBL HR patients having residual bone marrow disease after primary tumor control on the first line treatment regimen. Materials and Methods: The present retrospective study included two groups of eligible stage 4 NBL patients with persistent bone marrow disease. Group (1), 29 patients, received ICE whereas less intensive TC was administered to Group (2), 32 patients. Data analysis included epidemiological variables, pathology subtype, MYCN gene status, primary tumor response and their correlation with bone marrow disease clearance on each regimen. Results: A higher tendency of complete bone marrow clearance was reported in patients who received ICE compared to TC; 41.4% versus 25.0%, respectively. However, the difference was not statistically significant (p= 0.174). Conclusion: TC regimen appears to be a good alternative to ICE as salvage treatment in an attempt to clear NBL bone marrow residual, with the privilege of being less toxic and can be given on outpatient basis. Further randomized trials of larger study sample size with survival impact analysis are warranted.