A case report of a recurrent intracranial ependymoma treated with temozolomide in remission 10 years after completing chemotherapy

An Overview of Intracranial Ependymomas in Adults

Simple Summary

Ependymomas are neuroepithelial tumors arising from the central nervous system. They can form anywhere along the neuraxis. In adults, these tumors predominantly occur in the spine. Local therapy with surgery and radiotherapy represents the most effective treatment while systemic chemotherapy should be used in recurrent cases. However, in recent years, a deeper knowledge of molecular mechanisms of these tumors has been made, allowing for new potential systemic treatments. Here, we review these treatment approaches and provide an overview on the molecular characteristics of ependymomas.

Abstract

Ependymomas are rare primary central nervous system tumors. They can form anywhere along the neuraxis, but in adults, these tumors predominantly occur in the spine and less frequently intracranially. Ependymal tumors represent a heterogenous group of gliomas, and the WHO 2016 classification is based essentially on a grading system, with ependymomas classified as grade I, II (classic), or III (anaplastic). In adults, surgery is the primary initial treatment, while radiotherapy is employed as an adjuvant treatment in some cases of grade II and in all cases of anaplastic ependymoma; chemotherapy is reserved for recurrent cases. In recent years, important and interesting advances in the molecular characterization of ependymomas have been made, allowing for the identification of nine molecular subgroups of ependymal tumors and moving toward subgroup-specific patients with improved risk stratification for treatment-decisions and future prospective trials. New targeted agents or immunotherapies for ependymoma patients are being explored for recurrent disease. This review summarizes recent molecular advances in the diagnosis and treatment of intracranial ependymomas including surgery, radiation therapy and systemic therapies.

A phase II study of dose-dense temozolomide and lapatinib for recurrent low-grade and anaplastic supratentorial, infratentorial, and spinal cord ependymoma

BACKGROUND

No standard medical treatment exists for adult patients with recurrent ependymoma, and prospective clinical trials in this population have not succeeded because of its rarity and challenges in accruing patients. The Collaborative Ependymoma Research Network conducted a prospective phase II clinical trial of dose-dense temozolomide (TMZ) and lapatinib, targeting the unmethylated O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter status and increased expression of ErbB2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) and ErbB1 (epidermal growth factor receptor) in ependymomas.

METHODS

Patients age 18 or older with histologically proven and progressive ependymoma or anaplastic ependymoma were eligible and received dose-dense TMZ and daily lapatinib. The primary outcome measure was median progression-free survival (PFS). Landmark 6- and 12-month PFS and objective response were measured. Serial assessments of symptom burden using the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory Brain Tumor (MDASI-BT)/MDASI-Spine Tumor modules were collected.

RESULTS

The 50 patients enrolled had a median age of 43.5 years, median Karnofsky performance status of 90, and a median of 2 prior relapses. Twenty patients had grade III, 16 grade II, and 8 grade I ependymoma. Half had spinal cord tumors; 15 had a supratentorial tumor, 8 infratentorial, and 2 had disseminated disease. Treatment was well tolerated. The median PFS was 7.8 months (95% CI: 5.5,12.2); the 6- and 12-month PFS rates were 55% and 38%, with 2 complete and 6 partial responses. Measures of symptom burden showed reduction in moderate-severe pain and other disease-related symptoms in most patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This treatment, with demonstrated clinical activity with objective responses and prolonged disease control associated with disease-related symptom improvements, is an option as a salvage regimen for adult patients with recurrent ependymoma.

Intracranial ependymomas: The role of advanced neuroimaging in diagnosis and management

Intracranial ependymomas represent a rare subgroup of glial tumours, showing a wide variety of imaging characteristics, often representing a challenging diagnosis for neuroradiologists. Here, we review the most recent scientific Literature on intracranial ependymomas, highlighting the most characteristic computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging features of these neoplasms, along with epidemiologic data, recent classification aspects, clinical presentation and conventional therapeutic strategies. In addition, we report an illustrative case of an 18-year-old girl presenting with an intracranial supratentorial, anaplastic ependymoma, with the aim of contributing to the existing knowledge and comprehension of this rare tumour.

EANO guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of ependymal tumors

Ependymal tumors are rare CNS tumors and may occur at any age, but their proportion among primary brain tumors is highest in children and young adults. Thus, the level of evidence of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions is higher in the pediatric compared with the adult patient population.The diagnosis and disease staging is performed by craniospinal MRI. Tumor classification is achieved by histological and molecular diagnostic assessment of tissue specimens according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification 2016. Surgery is the crucial initial treatment in both children and adults. In pediatric patients with intracranial ependymomas of WHO grades II or III, surgery is followed by local radiotherapy regardless of residual tumor volume. In adults, radiotherapy is employed in patients with anaplastic ependymoma WHO grade III, and in case of incomplete resection of WHO grade II ependymoma. Chemotherapy alone is reserved for young children <12 months and for adults with recurrent disease when further surgery and irradiation are no longer feasible. A gross total resection is the mainstay of treatment in spinal ependymomas, and radiotherapy is reserved for incompletely resected tumors. Nine subgroups of ependymal tumors across different anatomical compartments (supratentorial, posterior fossa, spinal) and patient ages have been identified with distinct genetic and epigenetic alterations, and with distinct outcomes. These findings may lead to more precise diagnostic and prognostic assessments, molecular subgroup-adapted therapies, and eventually new recommendations pending validation in prospective studies.

Biology and management of ependymomas

Ependymomas are rare primary tumors of the central nervous system in children and adults that comprise histologically similar but genetically distinct subgroups. The tumor biology is typically more associated with the site of origin rather than being age-specific. Genetically distinct subgroups have been identified by genomic studies based on locations in classic grade II and III ependymomas. They are supratentorial ependymomas with C11orf95-RELA fusion or YAP1 fusion, infratentorial ependymomas with or without a hypermethylated phenotype (CIMP), and spinal cord ependymomas. Myxopapillary ependymomas and subependymomas have different biology than ependymomas with typical WHO grade II or III histology. Surgery and radiotherapy are the mainstays of treatment, while the role of chemotherapy has not yet been established. An in-depth understanding of tumor biology, developing reliable animal models that accurately reflect tumor molecule features, and high throughput drug screening are essential for developing new therapies. Collaborative efforts between scientists, physicians, and advocacy groups will enhance the translation of laboratory findings into clinical trials. Improvements in disease control underscore the need to incorporate assessment and management of patients' symptoms to ensure that treatment advances translate into improvement in quality of life.

Temozolomide as salvage treatment for recurrent intracranial ependymomas of the adult: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Few data are available on temozolomide (TMZ) in ependymomas.We investigated the response, survival, and correlation with MGMT promoter methylation in a cohort of patients with adult intracranial ependymoma receiving TMZ as salvage therapy after failure of surgery and radiotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We retrieved clinical information from the institutional database and follow-up visits, and response to TMZ on MRI was evaluated according to the MacDonald criteria.

RESULTS

Eighteen patients (median age, 42 y), with either WHO grade III (10) or grade II (8) ependymoma were evaluable. Tumor location at diagnosis was supratentorial in 11 patients and infratentorial in 7. Progression before TMZ was local in 11 patients, local and spinal in 6 patients, and spinal only in one patient. A median of 8 cycles of TMZ (1-24) was administered. Response to TMZ consisted of complete response (CR) in one (5%) patient, partial response (PR) in 3 (17%) patients, stable disease (SD) in 7 (39%) patients, and progressive disease (PD) in 7 (39%) patients. Maximum response occurred after 3, 10, 14, and 15 cycles, respectively, with neurological improvement in 2 patients. All 4 responding patients were chemotherapy naïve. Both anaplastic (2) and grade II (2) tumors responded. Median progression-free survival and overall survival were 9.69 months (95% CI, 3.22-30.98) and 30.55 months (95% CI, 12.85-52.17), respectively. MGMT methylation was available in 11 patients and was not correlated with response or outcome.

CONCLUSION

TMZ has a role in recurrent chemo-naïve adult patients with intracranial ependymoma, regardless of tumor grade and MGMT methylation. We suggest that, after failure of surgery and radiotherapy, TMZ should be considered as a possible first-line treatment for recurrent ependymoma.

Multiple spinal cord recurrences of an intracranial ependymoma after 14 years

Ependymoma can spread via cerebrospinal fluid, but late spinal recurrences of intracranial tumor are very rare. We describe a case of a 33-year-old male who presented with multiple, delayed, recurrent lesions in the spinal cord from an intracranial ependymoma. The patient underwent gross total resection and postoperative radiation therapy 14 years prior to visit for a low grade ependymoma in the 4th ventricle. The large thoraco-lumbar intradural-extramedullary spinal cord tumor was surgically removed and the pathologic diagnosis was an anaplastic ependymoma. An adjuvant whole-spine radiation therapy for residual spine lesions was performed. After completion of radiation therapy, a MRI showed a near complete response and the disease was stable for three years.

Cisplatin and temozolomide combination in the treatment of supratentorial anaplastic ependymoma

Anaplastic ependymomas are rare tumors in adult patients. Maximal safe resection and use of radiation therapy are standard treatment approaches in patients with anaplastic ependymoma. Recurrent anaplastic ependymomas are treated by reoperation when the tumors are surgically accessible, by radiotherapy if not previously administered and by salvage chemotherapy. However, the role of chemotherapy is still unclear. A few retrospective studies showed interesting results with platinum-based regimens, while the administration of temozolomide alone demonstrated conflicting results. We present, for the first time, the case of a patient with anaplastic ependymoma refractory to platinum-based chemotherapy and temozolomide only, but showing a prolonged reduction of the lesion after receiving combination chemotherapy with cisplatin and temozolomide. A brief review of the literature on the treatment of anaplastic ependymoma follows.

Current treatment options for pediatric and adult patients with ependymoma

OPINION STATEMENT

Survival rates for patients with ependymoma, a glial tumor arising from the ependymal cells lining the ventricles of the brain and spinal cord canal, have changed little during the past decade. Contemporary "standard" therapy for children and adults with ependymoma consists of maximal surgical resection followed by focal irradiation except in cases of disseminated disease. Despite refinements in radiotherapy techniques and improvements in survival for patients with gross totally resected, nonanaplastic disease, many therapeutic challenges remain, especially for patients with unresectable, macroscopic, metastatic, or anaplastic disease. Moreover, radiotherapy to the developing central nervous system, especially in patients younger than age 5 years, can have potential long-term neurocognitive and neuroendocrine sequelae. Chemotherapy has not played a role in most treatment regimens for ependymoma to date, but due to the ongoing therapeutic challenges for a subset of patients, this modality is being reinvestigated in a few ongoing studies. Early recognition of patients who will not respond to primary therapy is imperative to modify treatment regimens, such as intensification with the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy, the use of novel experimental therapies, or their combination. Refinements in patient stratification schemes that are based on a combination of clinical variables and molecular profiles also require improved knowledge of tumor biology. Several molecular alterations have been identified already, some of which may be of prognostic significance. Furthermore, disruption of molecular alterations in signaling pathways involved in the development and maintenance of ependymoma by using novel molecularly targeted therapies may improve outcomes and reduce toxicity for patients with ependymoma.

Temozolomide and unusual indications: review of literature

Temozolomide (TMZ) was first known to be useful as a radiosensitiser in both primary brain tumours like glioblastoma multiforme and oligodendroglioma. Later, TMZ proved its efficacy in the treatment of melanoma. Multiple publications have demonstrated the benefit of TMZ in terms of efficacy and tolerance (used as mono-therapy or as adjuvant chemotherapy) compared to the "gold standard" treatment of this kind of tumours. Furthermore, several recent clinical trials have shown the particular importance of TMZ in other types of cancer. This publication deals with the use of TMZ in cancers which are not formal indications for TMZ (excluding glioblastoma multiforme, oligodendroglioma and melanoma). It also includes a necessary review of recent literature about the role of TMZ in the treatment of brain metastases, lymphomas, refractory leukaemia, neuroendocrine tumours, pituitary tumours, Ewing's sarcoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumours, lung cancer and other tumours.

Ependymomas in adults

Ependymomas are rare primary central nervous system tumors in adults. They occur most commonly in the spinal cord, where histopathologic evaluation is critical to differentiate the grade I myxopapillary ependymoma from the grade II ependymoma or grade III anaplastic ependymoma. Brain ependymomas are either grade II or III. Treatment for all grades and types includes maximum surgical resection. For myxopapillary ependymoma, complete removal while maintaining capsule integrity may be curative. Some grade II ependymomas may be observed carefully after imaging confirms complete resection, but grade III tumors require adjuvant radiation treatment. Radiation commonly is given to the region of tumor, except in cases in which there is imaging or cerebrospinal fluid evidence of tumor dissemination. Chemotherapy has not been studied extensively, although most reports suggest only modest benefit. Ongoing laboratory studies have uncovered important signal transduction pathways that may be better therapeutic targets, leading to the development of clinical trials using targeted agents.

Salvage chemotherapy for metastatic and recurrent ependymoma of childhood

INTRODUCTION

Chemotherapy has limited role in the up-front management of ependymoma. At the time of recurrence, the role of chemotherapy is also ill defined and the choice of chemotherapeutic agents is often arbitrary, based on anecdotal data and personal experience.

METHODS

The purpose of this review is to describe and critically analyze the published literature on chemotherapy in patients with recurrent and metastatic ependymoma.

DISCUSSION

The disappointing response rate with single agents (12.9%) and combinations (17.4%) emphasizes the need to re-evaluate the current chemotherapeutic approach of intracranial ependymoma, and biological studies are needed to identify targets that may be considered for clinical trials.

Management strategies for recurrent ependymoma in the paediatric population

INTRODUCTION

The management of recurrent ependymoma within the paediatric population remains a therapeutic challenge. The options available are varied and patients may have already received prior radio- or chemotherapy. As yet, no consensus exists regarding their optimal treatment. We review the literature and present our contemporary management strategies for this interesting group of patients.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Survival following recurrence is poor and those prognostic factors that predispose to recurrence include extent of surgical resection and the timing of administration of adjuvant therapy. The extent of resection at re-operation can confer a survival advantage, without a necessary increase in morbidity. Strategies aimed at improving surgical resection at first diagnosis include improving and centralising post-surgical radiological review, defining what are true residuals, and centralising surgical review of incompletely resected tumours. Re-irradiation can improve survival, and with the use of conformal radiation fields need not necessarily lead to neuropsychological damage. Cisplatin and etoposide remain the most effective chemotherapeutic agents to date and with an increase in the understanding of tumour biology this may improve further. Because of the complex nature of this group of patients, decisions regarding their management require the involvement of a paediatric neurosurgeon, paediatric neuro-oncologist and paediatric radiation oncologist.

The history of ependymoma management

INTRODUCTION

The ependymomas are relatively not a common tumor. However, most clinicians agree that the radical removal of the tumor is the most important prognostic factor.

MORBIDITY OF TREATMENT

Tumor removal was not sufficient before the era of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resulted in a considerable operative morbidity and mortality. As the microneurosurgical techniques and microsurgical anatomy become popular and the MRI provide more detailed anatomical information preoperatively, radical removal of this complex and complicated tumor can be more feasible. In childhood ependymoma, the treatment-related morbidity and mortality can be the special issues, which can modify the policy of management safe tumor removal and minimal adjuvant treatment, which are extremely important.

RADIATION THERAPY

Radiation treatment has been the option for disseminated disease and residual tumor. With the advancement of detailed MR anatomical information, safer and more delicate radiation becomes possible with newer radiation modalities, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity modulating radiotherapy, and tomotherapy.

PROGNOSTIC FACTORS

Although many clinicians believe that the ependymomas are inheritably chemoresistant, the new targets for the treatment are under investigation or clinically tried. Also, the genetic alterations of ependymoma are developing and might be a promising target.

CONCLUSION

The surgical techniques and assistant modalities for tumor removal are still advancing. So, the outcome of ependymoma is still improving. Unfortunately, newer treatment modalities, such as new chemotherapeutic agent and gene modification agent, are still not promising. The history of ependymoma management is still in progress.

Ependymomas of the adult: molecular biology and treatment

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To review state of art and relevant advances in the molecular biology and management of ependymomas of the adult.

RECENT FINDINGS

Ependymomas of the adult are uncommon neoplasms of the central nervous system, and may occur either in the brain or the spinal cord. Compared with intracranial ependymomas, spinal ependymomas are less frequent and exhibit a better prognosis. Studies performed on genetic changes in ependymoma provide some insight into the pathogenesis and prognostic markers and yield new therapeutic targets, particularly focused on signal transduction modulators. The majority of studies have shown a major impact of extent of resection; thus, a complete resection must be performed, whenever possible, at first surgery or at reoperation. Involved field radiotherapy is recommended for anaplastic or incompletely resected grade II tumors. Craniospinal irradiation is reserved for metastatic disease. Chemotherapy is not advocated as primary treatment, and is best utilized as salvage treatment for patients failing surgery and radiotherapy.

SUMMARY

Owing to the rarity of the disease, the literature regarding ependymomas in adults is scarce and limited to retrospective series. Thus, the level of evidence regarding therapeutic strategies is low and universally accepted guidelines are lacking. Molecular biology studies suggest some potential new therapeutic targets.