Outcome of infants and young children with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma treated on Head Start III protocol.

2011 Background: The use of high dose chemotherapy with autologous hematopoietic cell rescue (AuHCR) is a potentially curative approach to the management of young children with medulloblastoma (MB), with the additional benefit of avoiding the late effects of irradiation. We report the outcome of young children with MB treated on “Head Start” III, a prospective, multi-national clinical trial. Methods: Between April 2003 and December 2009, 92 children with newly-diagnosed MB were enrolled amongst 29 participating institutions. All children were to receive 5 induction cycles (vincristine, cisplatin, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, high dose methotrexate - cycles 1, 3, 5), and vincristine, cyclophosphamide, oral VP-16 and temozolomide (cycles 2, 4), followed by 1 consolidation cycle of myeloablative chemotherapy (thiotepa, carboplatin, etoposide) and AuHCR. Only children between 6 -10 years old or with residual tumor pre-consolidation, were to receive irradiation after consolidation. Results: The 3-year event-fr...