Carboplatin and vincristine for recurrent and newly diagnosed low-grade gliomas of childhood.

PURPOSEThis study investigates the response rate to and toxicity of carboplatin and vincristine in children with recurrent low-grade gliomas (LGGs) or patients younger than 60 months with newly diagnosed LGGs.PATIENTS AND METHODSTwenty-three children with recurrent and 37 children with newly diagnosed LGGs were treated with a 10-week induction cycle of carboplatin and vincristine, followed by maintenance treatment with the same drugs. Patients were evaluated for response to treatment and toxicity.RESULTSTwelve of 23 (52% +/- 10%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32 to 0.72) assessable children with recurrent disease had an objective response to treatment, which included a greater than 50% reduction in tumor size in seven of 23 (30% +/- 10%; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.50). Twenty-three of 37 (62% +/- .08; 95% CI, 0.46 to 0.78) of newly diagnosed patients had an objective response, 16 of 37 (43% +/- 0.08%; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.59) with greater than 50% reduction in tumor size. The majority of those with an objective res...