title: Chemotherapy: low-grade gliomas of the hypothalamus and thalamus.
abstract: Chemotherapy is an increasing component of the management of diencephalic gliomas. It can result in tumor shrinkage and significant disease control in some patients. However, decisions concerning the institution of treatment should be based on the goals of treatment. Factors include: (1) age of the patient; (2) whether the child has neurofibromatosis type 1; (3) tumor size and location; (4) the potential sequelae of radiotherapy, and (5) the acute and long-term toxicity of the chemotherapeutic approach utilized. The erratic natural history of diencephalic tumors confounds evaluation of efficacy of the regimen chosen.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Neurology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. rpacker@cnmc.org
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Packer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005910:Glioma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007029:Hypothalamic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018579:Patient Selection; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015173:Supratentorial Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents