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Biomedical subjects
David N Korones
Publications and source records attributed to David N Korones.
Phase I study of temozolomide and escalating doses of oral etoposide for adults with recurrent malignant glioma.
BACKGROUND: Although temozolomide is active against recurrent malignant glioma, responses in many patients are modest and short-lived. Temozolomide may prove more effective in combination with other agents. Therefore, combination oral chemotherapy for these patients is a particularly attractive approach. METHODS: The authors conducted a Phase I study of temozolomide in combination with escalating doses of oral etoposide (VP-16) to determine the maximum tolerated doses of these two agents when given together. The temozolomide dose was fixed at 150 mg/m(2) per day on Days 1-5. The oral VP-16 was escalated in cohorts of 3 to 6 patients by numbers of days of VP-16 administered: 50 mg/m(2) per day, Days 1-5 (dose level 1), Days 1-8 (dose level 2), Days 1-12 (dose level 3), Days 1-16 (dose level 4), and Days 1-20 (dose level 5). Therapy was given in 28-day cycles. RESULTS: Of the 29 patients enrolled, 26 were fully evaluable and 3 were partially evaluable for toxicity. The 29 patients received a total of 92 cycles. The median age of the patients was 49 years (range, 28-76 years). Diagnoses included glioblastoma (n = 19), gliosarcoma (n = 3), anaplastic astrocytoma (n = 5), and anaplastic oligoastrocytoma (n = 2). The median time from diagnosis to disease recurrence was 8 months (3-188 months). Twenty patients were treated at the first disease recurrence, seven at the second, and two at the third. Twenty-four patients (83%) were receiving anticonvulsants and 24 were receiving dexamethasone. All patients had received previous radiation, and 25 of 29 had been treated with chemotherapy previously. Of the 3 patients at dose level 1, none had dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). Of the 6 patients at dose level 2, 1 patient had DLT: Grade 3 thrombocytopenia resulting in a > 2-week delay in starting the next cycle of chemotherapy. Of the 6 patients at dose level 3, 1 patient had DLT: death due to pneumonia. There were 2 DLTs in the 7 patients at dose level 4: fever, neutropenia, and herpes zoster infection in 1 patient and death due to pneumonia in another. Seven patients had been started at dose level 5 when DLT was established at dose level 4: of the 5 fully evaluable and 2 partially evaluable patients at dose level 5, there was no DLT. CONCLUSIONS: The maximum tolerated dose of temozolomide and oral VP-16 in this heavily treated group of patients with recurrent malignant glioma is temozolomide 150 mg/m(2) per day for 5 days and oral VP-16 50 mg/m(2) per day for 12 days.
Administration, Oral↗
Do children with optic pathway tumors have an increased frequency of other central nervous system tumors?
We questioned whether children with optic pathway tumors (OPTs) have an increased frequency of other CNS tumors on the basis of experience with a number of such children treated at our institution. The medical records of all patients with OPTs treated at Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong at the University of Rochester from 1957 to 2000 were reviewed to determine the incidence of additional CNS tumors in these children and whether the occurrence of these other CNS tumors is associated with any risk factors. Twenty-six children had OPTs. Twelve of the 26 children had biopsy-proved tumors; the remaining 14 were diagnosed on the basis of CT or MRI scans. Eight of the 26 patients (31%) had a total of 11 additional CNS tumors. (One child had 2 additional CNS neoplasms, and a second child had 3.) Nine were biopsy proved (3 glioblastoma, 3 anaplastic astrocytoma, 3 low-grade astrocytoma), and 2 were diagnosed by imaging studies alone (acoustic neuromas). Eight of the 11 tumors occurred at a median of 5 years (0.8-25 years) subsequent to the diagnosis of the OPTs; 3 were diagnosed simultaneously with the OPT. Of the 17 children with neurofibromatosis (NF) and OPTs, 8 (47%) had additional CNS tumors, while none of the 9 children (0%) without NF had other CNS tumors (P = 0.023). There was no association between radiation treatment of the primary OPT and subsequent development of other CNS tumors in the group as a whole, or when the analysis was confined to children with NF. Despite this lack of statistical association, all 7 CNS tumors that occurred following radiation arose in irradiated areas. The risk of simultaneous or subsequent CNS tumors in children with NF and OPTs is high. These children should be closely monitored for the simultaneous or subsequent occurrence of other CNS tumors.
Central Nervous System Neoplasms↗
High incidence of penicillin resistance among alpha-hemolytic streptococci isolated from the blood of children with cancer.
OBJECTIVES: To survey the susceptibility profiles to several beta-lactam antibiotics and to identify factors related to resistance among blood isolates of alpha-hemolytic streptococci (AHS) obtained from children with cancer. STUDY DESIGN: All pediatric oncology patients with AHS bacteremia occurring from January 1996 through June 1999 at one cancer center were identified. Isolates were categorized based on the minimum inhibitory concentration as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant to several beta-lactam antibiotics. Demographics and potential factors related to antibiotic resistance were obtained from the medical record. RESULTS: Thirty-eight AHS isolates were obtained from 33 patients. Penicillin susceptibility testing revealed that only 8 (21%) isolates were susceptible, 16 (42%) were intermediate, and 14 (37%) were resistant. All 14 of the penicillin-resistant isolates were also resistant to the 3 cephalosporins tested. Ceftriaxone and ceftazidime were the most active cephalosporins. Antibiotic resistance correlated with the recent use of systemic antibiotics, number of prior infectious episodes, and species type. CONCLUSIONS: Blood culture isolates of AHS obtained from children with cancer are frequently resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics. These results indicate that clinically relevant AHS isolates should be tested for antibiotic susceptibility and that beta-lactam antibiotics may not be optimal empiric therapy for fever and neutropenia in children with cancer who have a high risk of AHS infections.
Adolescent↗
Intrathecal thiotepa: reappraisal of an established therapy.
PURPOSE: Intrathecal thiotepa is recommended as a treatment of leptomeningeal metastases (LM) in children, although published data to support this approach are limited. The authors sought to determine the efficacy of intrathecal thiotepa for pediatric LM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The authors reviewed all children treated with intrathecal thiotepa for LM at two tertiary children's hospitals, assessing outcome by cerebrospinal fluid cytology, neuroimaging, neurologic examination, and overall survival rate. RESULTS: Fifteen children with LM evidenced by malignant cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (mean age 7.3 years; five medulloblastoma, one anaplastic astrocytoma, one glioblastoma, one retinoblastoma, one neuroblastoma, two rhabdomyosarcoma, one non-Hodgkin lymphoma, two acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and one acute myelogenous leukemia) were treated with intrathecal thiotepa at 5 to 11.5 mg/m2 per dose for two to seven doses. Five children received concomitant craniospinal irradiation; 12 received simultaneous systemic or other intrathecal chemotherapy, or both. Four children experienced clearance of malignant cells from the spinal fluid, but this response was sustained in only two. All four children with cytologic response received concurrent radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both. No patients showed partial or complete response on neuroimaging. Only one child had improvement on the neurologic examination; six were unchanged and eight had worsening neurologic signs. Median survival was 15.1 weeks, with a 1-year overall survival rate of 26.7% (standard error 11.4%). CONCLUSIONS: The unfavorable outcomes observed suggest that intrathecal thiotepa adds little to combination therapy for pediatric LM.
Adolescent↗