Adjuvant chemotherapy for the treatment of PNET/medulloblastoma in children

The major problems currently associated with management of PNET/medulloblastoma are a high mortality rate and late morbidity of craniospinal radiotherapy. Thirty-six children with either PNET (12 patients) or medulloblastoma (24 patients) were assessed to try and define the role of adjuvant chemotherapy. Prior to 1991, 23 children mainly were treated by surgery or craniospinal radiation therapy. Two-year and 5-year overall survival rates accounted for 52% and 39%, respectively, of the cases. A mean postoperative observation period of 161 months showed seven children to be alive, but six of them suffered serious mental retardation and endocrinological deficits. Since 1991, 13 newly-diagnosed children have been treated with cisplatin-based intensive chemotherapy every four weeks for 8 cycles. Four children under two years of age at first were treated with 8 cycles of chemotherapy, and then irradiated. Complete remissions were achieved in 11 of the 13 patients. The two-year survival rate was 82% and the disease-free survival rate 62% (8/13) with a mean observation period of 29 postoperative months. In conclusion, cisplatin-based chemotherapy appears to be effective adjuvant therapy for management of children with PNET/medulloblastoma. (author)