Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: Time for Cautious Optimism.

Induction treatment for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, experience of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

BACKGROUND The biology of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma remains poorly understood and the dismal prognosis has not changed despite various attempts to add chemotherapy to standard radiation. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective chart review was carried out of patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma treated at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1998 to 2010, and the data analyzed compa...

Lessons learned from diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: how a terrible disease forced us to think better.

Potential New Therapies for Pediatric Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is an extensively invasive malignancy with infiltration into other regions of the brainstem. Although large numbers of specific targeted therapies have been tested, no significant progress has been made in treating these high-grade gliomas. Therefore, the identification of new therapeutic approaches is of great importance for the development of more effec...

Nanotechnology Applications for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma

Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) are invariably fatal tumors found in the pons of elementary school aged children. These tumors are grade II-IV gliomas, with a median survival of less than 1 year from diagnosis when treated with standard of care (SOC) therapy. Nanotechnology may offer therapeutic options for the treatment of DIPGs. Multiple nanoparticle formulations are currently being...

A new era for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: hope for cure?

Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) are devastating tumors that almost exclusively occur in children. They comprise 7–8% of all pediatric CNS tumors and are the most frequent of all malignant gliomas in children [1]. Over the past 30 years, the prognosis has remained equally dismal, with <10% of the patients being alive 2 years from diagnosis [2,3]. A major problem in the treatment of DIP...