The therapy of infantile malignant brain tumors: current status?

Malignant brain tumors are not uncommon in infants as their occurrence before the age of three represents 20-25% of all malignant brain tumors in childhood [1]. Genetic predisposition to infantile malignant brain tumors are known in Gorlin syndrome for example who present with desmoplastic medulloblastoma in about 5% of the affected patients. In addition, sequelae from tumor and its treatment are more severe at this age [2]. Thus, malignant brain tumors represent a true therapeutic challenge in neuro-oncology. Before the era of modern imaging and modern neurosurgery these malignant brain tumors were misdiagnosed or could not benefit of the surgical procedures as well as older children because of increased risks in this age group. Since the end of the 80s, noninvasive imaging procedures produce accurate diagnosis of brain tumors and improvement in neurosurgery, neuroanesthesia and perioperative intensive care permit safe tumor resections or at least biopsies. Consequently, the pediatric oncologists are more often confronted with very young children who need a complementary treatment. Before the development of specific approaches for this age group, these children received the same kind of treatment than the older children did, but their survival and quality of life were significantly worse. The reasons of these poor results were probably due in part to the fear of late effects induced by radiation therapy, leading to decrease the necessary doses of irradiation which increased treatment failures without avoiding treatment related complications [3]. At the end of the 80s, pilot studies were performed using postoperative chemotherapy in young medulloblastoma patients. Van Eys treated 12 selected children with medulloblastoma with MOPP regimen and without irradiation; 8 of them were reported to be long term survivors [4]. Subsequently, the pediatric oncology cooperative groups studies have designed therapeutic trials for very young children with malignant brain tumors. Different approaches have been explored: * Prolonged postoperative chemotherapy and delayed irradiation as designed in the POG (Pediatric Oncology Group). * Postoperative chemotherapy without irradiation in the SFOP (Société Française d'Oncologie Pédiatrique) and in the GPO (German Pediatric Oncology) studies. * The role of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cells transplantation was explored in different ways: High-dose chemotherapy given in all patients as proposed in the Head Start protocol. High-dose chemotherapy given in relapsing patients as salvage treatment in the French strategy. In the earliest trials, the same therapy was applied to all histological types of malignant brain tumors and whatever the initial extension of the disease. This attitude was justified by the complexity of the classification of all brain tumors that has evolved over the past few decades leading to discrepancy between the diagnosis of different pathologists for a same tumor specimen. Furthermore, it has become increasingly obvious that the biology of brain tumors in very young children is different from that seen in older children. However, in the analysis of these trials an effort was made to give the results for each histological groups, according to the WHO classification and after a central review of the tumor specimens. All these collected data have brought to an increased knowledge of infantile malignant brain tumors in terms of diagnosis, prognostic factors and response to chemotherapy. Furthermore a large effort was made to study long term side effects as endocrinopathies, cognitive deficits, cosmetic alterations and finally quality of life in long term survivors. Prospective study of sequelae can bring information on the impact of the different factors as hydrocephalus, location of the tumor, surgical complications, chemotherapy toxicity and irradiation modalities. With these informations it is now possible to design therapeutic trials devoted to each histological types, adapted to pronostic factors and more accurate treatment to decrease long term sequelae.