title: Hypofractionated radiotherapy in the treatment of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma in children: a single institution's experience.
abstract: We report herein our institutional experience in the treatment of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) with a hypofractionated external-beam radiotherapy schedule. Between April 1996 and January 2004, 22 patients (age 2.9-12.5 years) with newly diagnosed DIPG were treated by hypofractionated radiation therapy delivering a total dose of 45 Gy in daily fractions of 3 Gy, given over 3 weeks. No other treatment was applied concomitantly. Fourteen of the 22 patients received the prescribed dose of 45 Gy in 15 fractions of 3 Gy, and 2 patients received a total dose of 60 and 45 Gy with a combination of two different beams (photons and neutrons). In five cases the daily fraction was modified to 2 Gy due to intolerance, and one patient died due to serious intracranial hypertension after two fractions of 3 Gy and one of 2 Gy. Among 22 children, 14 patients showed clinical improvement, usually starting in the second week of treatment. No grade 3 or 4 acute toxicity from radiotherapy was observed. No treatment interruption was needed. In six patients, steroids could be discontinued within 1 month after the end of radiotherapy. Median time to progression and median overall survival were 5.7 months and 7.6 months, respectively. External radiotherapy with a radical hypofractionated regimen is feasible and well tolerated in children with newly diagnosed DIPG. However, this regimen does not seem to change overall survival in this setting. It could represent a short-duration alternative to more protracted regimens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Negretti
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bouchireb
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Levy-Piedbois
authors.forename: Jean Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Habrand
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dhermain
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kalifa
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grill
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dufour
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020295:Brain Stem Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D011149:Pons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones