Best practices for the use of intracerebroventricular drug delivery devices.

For decades, intracerebroventricular (ICV), or intraventricular, devices have been used in the treatment of a broad range of pediatric and adult central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Due to the limited permeability of the blood brain barrier, diseases with CNS involvement may require direct administration of drugs into the brain to achieve full therapeutic effect. A recent comprehensive literature review on the clinical use and complications of ICV drug delivery revealed that device-associated complication rates are variable, and may be as high as 33% for non-infectious complications and 27% for infectious complications. The variability in reported safety outcomes may be driven by a lack of consensus on best practices of device use. Numerous studies have demonstrated that employing strict aseptic techniques and following stringent protocols can dramatically reduce complications. Key practices to be considered in facilitating the safe, long-term use of these devices are presented.

Efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy or standard salvage therapy in patients with recurrent medulloblastoma.

The efficacy of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) or standard salvage therapy was evaluated in patients with recurrent medulloblastoma (MBL) using retrospective chart review of all patients with recurrent MBL treated at Duke University Medical Center between 1995 and 2005 and who had undergone HDC with or without radiotherapy (RT) or standard salvage therapy after relapse. A total of 30 patients were diagnosed with recurrent MBL after standard RT alone or chemotherapy with RT. Nineteen patients (7 who received no RT before recurrence [group A] and 12 who received definitive RT before recurrence [group B]) underwent surgery and/or induction chemotherapy followed by HDC plus autologous stem-cell rescue. Eleven patients (group C) underwent standard salvage therapy. Six of seven group A patients also received standard RT just before or after recovery from HDC, and 5 of 12 group B patients received adjuvant palliative focal RT post-HDC. At a median follow-up of 28 months, three of seven patients in group A are alive and disease-free at >or=34, >or=110, and >or=116 months, respectively, post-HDC. All patients in groups B and C have died of tumor, at a median of 35 months and 26 months from HDC and standard salvage therapy, respectively. HDC or standard salvage therapy was ineffective in our patients with recurrent MBL who had received standard RT before recurrence. The favorable impact of HDC on disease control in the two long-term survivors cannot be clearly established due to the cofounding effect of definitive RT postrecurrence.

Temozolomide in children with progressive low-grade glioma.

We conducted a phase II study to assess the efficacy of oral temozolomide (TMZ) in children with progressive low-grade glioma. Thirty eligible patients were enrolled on this study. Median age at enrollment was 10 years (range, 4-18 years). Eligible patients received TMZ (200 mg/m(2) per day) by mouth for five days every four weeks. Patients received a median of nine cycles (range, 2-12 cycles) of treatment. Best responses in the 26 patients (86%) with optic pathway glioma (OPG)/pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) included partial response in 3 patients (11%), minor response in 1 (4%), stable disease in 10 (38%), and progressive disease in 12 (46%). Only one of four patients with fibrillary astrocytoma had stable disease for 29 months after TMZ. The overall disease stabilization rate in patients with OPG/PA was 54%, and disease control was maintained for a median interval of 34 months. Seventeen of 26 patients had progressive disease either on or off therapy, and three have died of disease. The two-year progression-free and overall survivals in patients with OPG/PA were 49% (95% CI, 30%-67%) and 96% (95% CI, 89%-100%), respectively. Worst toxicity related to TMZ in all 30 patients included grade 2-4 thrombocytopenia in seven patients, grade 2-4 neutropenia in seven, grade 2 skin rash in one, and intratumor hemorrhage in one. TMZ given in this schedule was successful in stabilizing disease in a significant proportion of the patients with OPG/PA, with manageable toxicity.