Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026
A Protocol for Rapid Post-mortem Cell Culture of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)
Published on: March 7, 2017
Secondary dissemination in children with high-grade malignant gliomas and diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas
S Wagner1, M Benesch, F Berthold
1Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Klinik St Hedwig, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany. sabine.wagner@barmherzige-regensburg.de
Insights
Secondary disseminating disease (SDD) in pediatric high-grade gliomas (HGG) is linked to poorer outcomes. This finding suggests treatment stratification based on disease stage is crucial for improving survival in HGG patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Cancer Dissemination
Background:
- Treatment for pediatric high-grade gliomas (HGG) and diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) often lacks stratification by disease stage.
- Secondary disseminating disease (SDD) is a pattern of cancer spread that may impact patient prognosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the occurrence and impact of secondary disseminating disease (SDD) in children with newly diagnosed HGG or DIPG.
- To determine if SDD is associated with a worse outcome in pediatric HGG patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 270 children with newly diagnosed HGG or DIPG.
- Review of medical and computer records for demographic data, dissemination sites, and prognostic variables.
- Analysis of secondary disseminating disease (SDD) patterns and overall survival (OS).
Main Results:
- Of 270 patients, 46 (17%) developed SDD, with a median time to dissemination of 8.2 months.
- Median overall survival (OS) after dissemination was 3.2 months.
- Pediatric HGG patients with SDD had a shorter median OS (1.02 years) compared to those without SDD (1.41 years) (P=0.0495). Cerebrospinal fluid dissemination correlated with worse outcomes than parenchymal metastases.
Conclusions:
- Secondary disseminating disease (SDD) is a significant negative prognostic factor for pediatric high-grade gliomas (HGG) outside the pons.
- Treatment strategies for pediatric HGG should consider stratification based on the presence and pattern of disease dissemination.
Abstract:
In children, treatment regimen for high-grade gliomas (HGG) and diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) are generally not stratified according to disease stage. The hypothesis was that secondary disseminating disease (SDD) in children with HGG is related to an even worse outcome. Description of SDD pattern was performed. In total, 270 children with newly diagnosed HGG or DIPG were eligible for retrospective analysis of SDD. Medical and computer records of these patients were reviewed for demographic characteristics, sites of dissemination, prognostic variables. Forty-six (17%) of the 270 patients had developed SDD. The median time to SDD was 8.2 months. The median overall survival (OS) after dissemination was 3.2 months. The SDD was located parenchymal in the supratentorial (34.8%), infratentorial (6.5%), supratentorial and infratentorial (19.6%), spinal (10.9%), spinal and cerebral (6.5%) regions of the CNS, or leptomeningeal (21.7%). For HGG patients, the median OS was shorter among patients with SDD than among patients without SDD (1.02 vs 1.41 years, P=0.0495). In the group of patients with SDD, patients with cerebrospinal fluid dissemination had a worse outcome compared with patients with parenchymal metastases. Summarising, SDD is a negative prognostic factor for patients with HGG outside the pons. Treatment stratification should be considered.
More Related Videos
09:43Primary Orthotopic Glioma Xenografts Recapitulate Infiltrative Growth and Isocitrate Dehydrogenase I Mutation
Published on: January 14, 2014
07:39Co-culture of Glutamatergic Neurons and Pediatric High-Grade Glioma Cells Into Microfluidic Devices to Assess Electrical Interactions
Published on: November 17, 2021