Survival and functional outcomes of molecularly defined childhood posterior fossa ependymoma: Cure at a cost.

Background: Posterior fossa ependymoma (PFE) comprises 2 groups, PF group A (PFA) and PF group B (PFB), with stark differences in outcome. However, to the authors' knowledge, the long-term outcomes of PFA ependymoma have not been described fully. The objective of the current study was to identify predictors of survival and neurocognitive outcome in a large consecutive cohort of subgrouped patients with PFE over 30 years.

Phase III trial of chemotherapy plus radiotherapy compared with radiotherapy alone for pure and mixed anaplastic oligodendroglioma: Intergroup Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Trial 9402.

Purpose: Anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) and anaplastic oligoastrocytoma (AOA) are treated with surgery and radiotherapy (RT) at diagnosis, but they also respond to procarbazine, lomustine, and vincristine (PCV), raising the possibility that early chemotherapy will improve survival. Furthermore, better outcomes in AO have been associated with 1p and 19q allelic loss.

Patients And Methods: Patients with AO and AOA were randomly assigned to PCV chemotherapy followed by RT versus postoperative RT alone.