Abstract

IntroductionTreatment of recurrent primary pediatric brain tumors remains a major challenge, with most children succumbing to their disease. We conducted a prospective phase 2 study investigating the safety and efficacy of pomalidomide (POM) in children and young adults with recurrent and progressive primary brain tumors.MethodsPatients with recurrent and progressive high-grade glioma (HGG), diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), ependymoma, or medulloblastoma received POM 2.6 mg/m2/day (the recommended phase 2 dose [RP2D]) on days 1-21 of a 28-day cycle. A Simon’s Optimal 2-stage design was used to determine efficacy. Primary endpoints included objective response (OR) and long-term stable disease (LTSD) rates. Secondary endpoints included duration of response, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety.Results46 patients were evaluable for response (HGG, n = 19; DIPG, ependymoma, and medulloblastoma, n = 9 each). Two patients with HGG achieved OR or LTSD (10.5% [95% CI, 1.3%-33.1%]; 1 partial response and 1 LTSD) and 1 patient with ependymoma had LTSD (11.1% [95% CI, 0.3%-48.2%]). There were no ORs or LTSD in the DIPG or medulloblastoma cohorts. The median PFS for patients with HGG, DIPG, ependymoma, and medulloblastoma was 7.86, 11.29, 8.43, and 8.43 weeks, respectively. Median OS was 5.06, 3.78, 12.02, and 11.60 months, respectively. Neutropenia was the most common grade 3/4 adverse event.ConclusionsTreatment with POM monotherapy did not meet the primary measure of success in any cohort. Future studies are needed to evaluate if POM would show efficacy in tumors with specific molecular signatures or in combination with other anticancer agents.Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03257631; EudraCT, identifier 2016-002903-25.

Highlights

  • Treatment of recurrent primary pediatric brain tumors remains a major challenge, with most children succumbing to their disease

  • 46 patients were evaluable for response (HGG, n = 19; diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), ependymoma, and medulloblastoma, n = 9 each)

  • Two patients with high-grade glioma (HGG) achieved objective response (OR) or long-term stable disease (LTSD) (10.5% [95% CI, 1.3%-33.1%]; 1 partial response and 1 LTSD) and 1 patient with ependymoma had LTSD (11.1% [95% CI, 0.3%-48.2%])

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Summary

Introduction

Treatment of recurrent primary pediatric brain tumors remains a major challenge, with most children succumbing to their disease. We conducted a prospective phase 2 study investigating the safety and efficacy of pomalidomide (POM) in children and young adults with recurrent and progressive primary brain tumors. High-grade glioma (HGG World Health Organization grades III and IV), diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), medulloblastoma, and ependymoma represent the majority of malignant primary brain and CNS tumors [4,5,6]. Most patients with recurrent medulloblastoma and ependymoma will die from progressive disease despite treatment [5, 6]. The multimodal mechanism of action and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier suggest that POM may represent a unique approach for addressing the unmet needs in primary pediatric CNS tumors

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