Initial experience involving treatment and retreatment with carmustine wafers in combination with oral temozolomide: long-term survival in a child with relapsed glioblastoma multiforme.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastomas occur infrequently in children, and the prognosis is better than for glioblastomas seen in adults. Aggressive treatment is justified in pediatric patients. OBSERVATIONS: We present the case of a 6-year-old child with malignant posterior temporal glioma treated with surgery, radiotherapy, local chemotherapy with carmustine wafers, and oral therapy with temozolomide, both at initial diagnosis and at relapse 18 months later. After 6 years, the patient seems healthy with no focal neurologic signs, and imaging studies show no evidence of disease.
CONCLUSION: Multimodal therapy was found to have a very positive outcome for a child with malignant glioma.