The challenges of high-dose chemotherapy in CNS tumors.
High-dose, myeloablative chemotherapy with hematopoietic stem cell rescue is used in children and young adults with brain tumors for which conventional therapy is either excessively toxic (e.g., radiotherapy in infants) or ineffective. Thus, the aims of such strategies are to improve both quantity and quality of life. Whether high-dose chemotherapy is less neurotoxic and more effective than other therapeutic approaches is still controversial. We will consider the difficulties in analyzing published data and the challenges of designing effective clinical trials that test high-dose chemotherapy in patients with brain tumors.
Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90027, USA. abutturini@chla.usc.edu
Anna
A
Butturini
Didier
D
Frappaz
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016543:Central Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002648:Child; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D055815:Young Adult
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents