Active clinical trials for "Ependymoma"

This study plans to learn more about the use of Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulation Factor (GM-CSF) on ependymoma tumors. The use of GM-CSF is a potential way of increasing the infiltration of immune cells and this study is looking at whether or not this will improve the outcome of patients with an ependymoma

Functional precision medicine (FPM) is a relatively new approach to cancer therapy based on direct exposure of patient- isolated tumor cells to clinically approved drugs and integrates ex vivo drug sensitivity testing (DST) and genomic profiling to determine the optimal individualized therapy for cancer patients. In this study, we will enroll relapsed or refractory pediatric cancer patients with tissue available for DST and genomic profiling from the South Florida area, which is 69% Hispanic and 18% Black. Tumor cells collected from tissue taken during routine biopsy or surgery will be tested.

RATIONALE: New imaging procedures, such as fluorine F 18 fluorodopa-labeled PET scan, may help in guiding surgery and radiation therapy and allow doctors to plan better treatment. PURPOSE: This clinical trial studies fluorine F 18 fluorodopa-labeled PET scan in planning surgery and radiation therapy in treating patients with newly diagnosed high- or low-grade malignant glioma

Treatment of childhood ependymoma, the second most frequent pediatric brain tumor, is based on surgery and radiation therapy. However, 50% relapse, mainly locally. Progress in imaging, molecular biology and radiotherapy ballistics has led us to propose the EPENDYMOMICS project, a multi-omics approach using artificial intelligence to detect the predictive characteristics of relapse, and to define innovative radiotherapy targets using multimodal imaging. We previously reported that the relapse sites are mainly located in the high-dose radiotherapy zone and that there appear to be prognostic factors for relapse based on anatomical and functional MRI abnormalities by diffusion and perfusion. In addition, recent studies in molecular biology have identified significant prognostic factors. The challenge now is to use and correlate all these findings in larger cohorts to tackle the radio-resistance of this disease. Our objective is to collate in a single database called NETSPARE (Network to Structure and Share Pediatric data to Accelerate Research on Ependymoma) the clinical, histological, biological, imaging and radiotherapy data from two consecutive studies that included 370 children and adolescents with ependymoma since 2000 in France. The EPENDYMOMICS project will comprise a clinical research team, three imaging research teams, two histopathology teams, and a biostatistics team working on NETSPARE. Our goal is to obtain a radiogenomic signature of our data, which will be validated with the English external cohort of 200 patients that is currently being analyzed. The perspective is to optimize the indications and volumes of irradiation that could in the future be used in a European translational research trial to tackle radioresistance.

Primary malignant central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the second most common childhood malignancies. Amongst, medulloblastomas are the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood and occur primarily in the cerebellum. According to molecular characteristics, medulloblastomas were classified into four subtypes: WNT, SHH, Group3 and Group4 and different prognosis were noticed between subgroups. Several genetic predispositions related to clinical outcome were also discovered and might influence the treatment of medulloblastomas as novel pharmaceutical targets. This study aims to investigate genetic and cellular profiles of pediatric brain malignancies, mostly medulloblastomas, and other central nervous system tumor based on WGS, RNA-seq, single-cell sequencing and spatial transcriptomics. We also aim to investigate the correlation between genetic characteristics and clinical prognosis.

Every new classification depends on its prognostic power and on the type of treatment given. With the rapid evolution of diagnostic methods and the advance in new treatments, there is much less reliable information available on how patients with newly defined brain tumour entities should be treated and what to expect from the current treatments. The goal is to determine whether the new 2021 WHO classification, based on cIMPACT-NOW recommendations, results in more homogeneous patient groups than the old 2016 classification. Furthermore, it will help derive provisional guidelines on how patients with these newly defined tumour entities are best treated. These recommendations will be based on the experience of EORTC investigators with chosen treatments and their experience as reported in this data collection report.

The first proton therapy treatments in the Netherlands have taken place in 2018. Due to the physical properties of protons, proton therapy has tremendous potential to reduce the radiation dose to the healthy, tumour-surrounding tissues. In turn, this leads to less radiation-induced complications, and a decrease in the formation of secondary tumours. The Netherlands has spearheaded the development of the model-based approach (MBA) for the selection of patients for proton therapy when applied to prevent radiation-induced complications. In MBA, a pre-treatment in-silico planning study is done, comparing proton and photon treatment plans in each individual patient, to determine (1) whether there is a significant difference in dose in the relevant organs at risk (ΔDose), and (2) whether this dose difference translates into an expected clinical benefit in terms of NormalTissue Complication Probabilities (ΔNTCP). To translate ΔDose into ΔNTCP, NTCP-models are used, which are prediction models describing the relation between dose parameters and the likelihood of radiation-induced complications. The Dutch Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (NVRO) setup the selection criteria for proton therapy in 2015, taking into account toxicity and NTCP. However, NTCP-models can be affected by changes in the irradiation technique. Therefore, it is paramount to continuously update and validate these NTCP-models in subsequent patient cohorts treated with new techniques. In ProTRAIT, a Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR)data infrastructure for both clinical and 3D image and 3D dose information has been developed and deployed for proton therapy in the Netherlands. It allows for a prospective, standardized, multi-centric data from all Dutch proton and a representative group of photon therapy patients.

This laboratory study is looking at stored tumor samples in young patients with brain tumors. Studying samples of tumor tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Heat Shock Protein Peptide Complex-96 (HSPPC-96) Vaccine is an feasible and safe treatment for pediatric patients with newly-diagnosed High-Grade Gliomas or recurrent, resectable High-Grade Gliomas and Ependymomas.

This is a phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy of single-agent erlotinib versus oral etoposide in patients with recurrent or refractory pediatric ependymoma.