Efficacy of vincristine and cyclophosphamide in the therapy of recurrent medulloblastoma.

Abstract

We conducted a Phase II study of combination therapy with vincristine and cyclophosphamide in the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic medulloblastoma. Fourteen patients were treated with vincristine 2 mg/m2 (2.0-mg maximal dose) by intravenous bolus on Day 1 and cyclophosphamide 1 g/m2 by intravenous infusion on Days 1 and 2, with cycles repeated every 4 weeks. All 4 patients with extraneural disease (biopsy-proven bony metastases) responded (duration of responses 2+, 6+, 8, and 16+ months) and 4 of 8 evaluable patients with neuraxis disease responded (duration of response 2, 2+, 2+, and 21+ months). Toxicity was limited to neutropenia without any episodes of infection. These therapeutic results compare favorably with other reports of therapy for recurrent medulloblastoma and support the inclusion of vincristine and cyclophosphamide in randomized adjuvant therapy trials of patients with medulloblastoma.