Niclas Colditz

Purpose Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a brainstem malignancy with a median survival of < 1 year. The International and European Society for Pediatric Oncology DIPG Registries collaborated to compare clinical, radiologic, and histomolecular characteristics between short-term survivors (STSs) and long-term survivors (LTSs). Materials and Methods Data abstracted from registry databases included patients from North America, Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Croatia. Results Among 1,130 pediatric and young adults with radiographically confirmed DIPG, 122 (11%) were excluded. Of the 1,008 remaining patients, 101 (10%) were LTSs (survival ≥ 2 years). Median survival time was 11 months (interquartile range, 7.5 to 16 months), and 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year survival rates were 42.3% (95% CI, 38.1% to 44.1%), 9.6% (95% CI, 7.8% to 11.3%), 4.3% (95% CI, 3.2% to 5.8%), 3.2% (95% CI, 2.4% to 4.6%), and 2.2% (95% CI, 1.4% to 3.4%), respectively. LTSs, compared with STSs, more commonly presented at age < 3 or > 10 years (11% v 3% and 33% v 23%, respectively; P < .001) and with longer symptom duration ( P < .001). STSs, compared with LTSs, more commonly presented with cranial nerve palsy (83% v 73%, respectively; P = .008), ring enhancement (38% v 23%, respectively; P = .007), necrosis (42% v 26%, respectively; P = .009), and extrapontine extension (92% v 86%, respectively; P = .04). LTSs more commonly received systemic therapy at diagnosis (88% v 75% for STSs; P = .005). Biopsies and autopsies were performed in 299 patients (30%) and 77 patients (10%), respectively; 181 tumors (48%) were molecularly characterized. LTSs were more likely to harbor a HIST1H3B mutation (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.5; P = .002). Conclusion We report clinical, radiologic, and molecular factors that correlate with survival in children and young adults with DIPG, which are important for risk stratification in future clinical trials.

Background: The novel entity of "diffuse midline glioma, H3 K27M-mutant" has been defined in the 2016 revision of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of tumors of the central nervous system (CNS). Tumors of this entity arise in CNS midline structures of predominantly pediatric patients and are associated with an overall dismal prognosis. They are defined by K27M mutations in H3F3A or HIST1H3B/C, encoding for histone 3 variants H3.3 and H3.1, respectively, which are considered hallmark events driving gliomagenesis. Methods: Here, we characterized 85 centrally reviewed diffuse gliomas on midline locations enrolled in the nationwide pediatric German HIT-HGG registry regarding tumor site, histone 3 mutational status, WHO grade, age, sex, and extent of tumor resection. Results: We found 56 H3.3 K27M-mutant tumors (66%), 6 H3.1 K27M-mutant tumors (7%), and 23 H3-wildtype tumors (27%). H3 K27M-mutant gliomas shared an aggressive clinical course independent of their anatomic location. Multivariate regression analysis confirmed the significant impact of the H3 K27M mutation as the only independent parameter predictive of overall survival (P = 0.009). In H3 K27M-mutant tumors, neither anatomic midline location nor histopathological grading nor extent of tumor resection had an influence on survival. Conclusion: These results substantiate the clinical significance of considering diffuse midline glioma, H3 K27M-mutant, as a distinct entity corresponding to WHO grade IV, carrying a universally fatal prognosis.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare and deadly childhood malignancy. After 40 years of mostly single-center, often non-randomized trials with variable patient inclusions, there has been no improvement in survival. It is therefore time for international collaboration in DIPG research, to provide new hope for children, parents and medical professionals fighting DIPG. In a first step towards collaboration, in 2011, a network of biologists and clinicians working in the field of DIPG was established within the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) Brain Tumour Group: the SIOPE DIPG Network. By bringing together biomedical professionals and parents as patient representatives, several collaborative DIPG-related projects have been realized. With help from experts in the fields of information technology, and legal advisors, an international, web-based comprehensive database was developed, The SIOPE DIPG Registry and Imaging Repository, to centrally collect data of DIPG patients. As for April 2016, clinical data as well as MR-scans of 694 patients have been entered into the SIOPE DIPG Registry/Imaging Repository. The median progression free survival is 6.0 months (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 5.6-6.4 months) and the median overall survival is 11.0 months (95% CI 10.5-11.5 months). At two and five years post-diagnosis, 10 and 2% of patients are alive, respectively. The establishment of the SIOPE DIPG Network and SIOPE DIPG Registry means a paradigm shift towards collaborative research into DIPG. This is seen as an essential first step towards understanding the disease, improving care and (ultimately) cure for children with DIPG.

BACKGROUND: The term gliomatosis cerebri (GC), a radiology-defined highly infiltrating diffuse glioma, has been abandoned since molecular GC-associated features could not be established. METHODS: We conducted a multinational retrospective study of 104 children and adolescents with GC providing comprehensive clinical and (epi-)genetic characterization. RESULTS: Median overall survival (OS) was 15.5 months (interquartile range, 10.9-27.7) with a 2-year survival rate of 28%. Histopathological grading correlated significantly with median OS: CNS WHO grade II: 47.8 months (25.2-55.7); grade III: 15.9 months (11.4-26.3); grade IV: 10.4 months (8.8-14.4). By DNA methylation profiling (n = 49), most tumors were classified as pediatric-type diffuse high-grade glioma (pedHGG), H3-/IDH-wild-type (n = 31/49, 63.3%) with enriched subclasses pedHGG_RTK2 (n = 19), pedHGG_A/B (n = 6), and pedHGG_MYCN (n = 5), but only one pedHGG_RTK1 case. Within the pedHGG, H3-/IDH-wild-type subgroup, recurrent alterations in EGFR (n = 10) and BCOR (n = 9) were identified. Additionally, we observed structural aberrations in chromosome 6 in 16/49 tumors (32.7%) across tumor types. In the pedHGG, H3-/IDH-wild-type subgroup TP53 alterations had a significant negative effect on OS. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to previous studies, our representative pediatric GC study provides evidence that GC has a strong predilection to arise on the background of specific molecular features (especially pedHGG_RTK2, pedHGG_A/B, EGFR and BCOR mutations, chromosome 6 rearrangements).

Background: Our aim is to investigate the association of treatment with survival in patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) by examining 6 historical treatment paths. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 409 patients with radiologically centrally reviewed DIPG, sourced from the German Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology HIT-HGG trial database and the SIOPE-DIPG/DMG Registry. Survival outcomes were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were estimated to study treatment effects. Results: The median overall survival (OS) from diagnosis was 11.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.5-11.9). Patients who by choice received no frontline treatment had an OS of 3.0 months (95% CI, 2.0-4.0), while those treated with radiation therapy (RT) alone had a median OS of 10.4 months (95% CI, 9.1-11.8). Those receiving RT combined with chemotherapy had the longest median OS of 11.7 months (95% CI, 10.8-12.6). The median post-progression survival (PPS) was 4.1 months (95% CI, 3.5-4.7). Patients who relapsed and did not receive treatment had a PPS of 2.2 months (95% CI, 1.8-2.6), while those treated with chemotherapy alone had a PPS of 4.4 months (95% CI, 3.7-5.0), and those who underwent reirradiation, with or without chemotherapy, had the longest survival after relapse of 6.6 months (95% CI, 5.3-8.0). Treatment differences remained significant in multivariable analysis adjusted for age and symptom duration in both diagnosis and relapse setting. Conclusions: This study shows increased survival outcomes associated with radiation and chemotherapy treatment or a combination thereof, at diagnosis and relapse, in a historical DIPG cohort.