Changes to This Summary (05/18/2012)
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Added McCabe et al. as reference 29.
Cellular Classification of Central Nervous System (CNS) Embryonal Tumors
Added Miller et al. as reference 8.
Revised text to state that CNS primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs) generally arise in the cerebrum or suprasellar region, but may arise in the brain stem and spinal cord (cited Benesch et al. as reference 14).
Added text to state that genome-wide characterization of PNETs and pineoblastomas has demonstrated substantial molecular heterogeneity among these tumors.
Added Gudrunardottir et al. as reference 14.
Treatment Options for Newly Diagnosed Childhood Medulloblastoma
The Children Aged 3 Years and Younger subsection was extensively revised.
Treatment Options for Other Newly Diagnosed CNS Embryonal Tumors
Added Gerber et al. and Müller et al. as references 3 and 4, respectively.
Recurrent Childhood CNS Embryonal Tumors
Revised text to state that for select patients with recurrent medulloblastoma, primarily infants and young children who were treated at the time of diagnosis with chemotherapy alone and developed local recurrence, long-term disease control may be obtained after further treatment with chemotherapy plus local radiation therapy; this potential may be greatest in patients who are able to undergo complete resection of the recurrent disease (cited Bakst et al. as reference 17 and level of evidence 3iiiA).
Added Gilman et al. and Pizer et al. as references 22 and 23, respectively, and level of evidence 2A.
Added text to state that results from national trials for relapsed medulloblastoma that specified intent to transplant as part of their treatment plan showed that only approximately 5% of patients initiating retrieval therapy achieve long-term disease-free survival with this strategy. Thus, studies that report from the time of transplant overestimate the benefit of transplant-based approaches for the total population of relapsing patients (cited Gajjar et al. as reference 27).
Added text about the PBTC-032 trial as a treatment option under clinical evaluation.
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