State of affairs in use of steroids in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: an international survey and a review of the literature

Title

State of affairs in use of steroids in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: an international survey and a review of the literature

Creator

Veldhuijzen van Zanten Sophie EM; Cruz O; Kaspers Gertjan JL; Hargrave DR; van Vuurden DG; SIOPEDIPG Network

Publisher

Journal Of Neuro-oncology

Date

2016

Subject

Pediatric oncology; Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG); Quality of life (QoL); Side effects; Steroids

Description

Children diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) face a dismal prognosis, with severe neurologic deterioration and inevitable death at a median of 9 months from diagnosis. Steroids are widely prescribed as supportive or palliative treatment although they are known to cause severe side effects that may reduce the quality of life. This study aims to review the current knowledge on, and use of, steroids in DIPG patients. A global questionnaire-study among health care professionals was performed to ascertain information on the current (multi-)institutional and (multi-)national use of steroids, the availability of clinical guidelines, and the need for improvements in prescribing steroids to DIPG patients. In addition, an extensive literature search was performed to review studies investigating steroids in pediatric brain tumor patients. From 150 responding health care professionals, only 7 % had clinical guidelines. The use of steroids was heterogeneous and over 85 % of respondents reported serious side effects. Fourteen articles, with low level of evidence, described the use of steroids in pediatric brain tumor patients. Clinical trials investigating optimal dose or regimen were lacking. This study is a first inventory of the availability of evidence-based information and clinical guidelines, and the current attitude towards the use of steroids in DIPG patients. To date, the risk-benefit ratio of steroids in this disease is yet to be determined. We emphasize the need for clinical trials resulting in guidelines on steroids, and possibly alternative drugs, to optimize the quality of care and quality of life of DIPG patients.
2016-07

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Type

Journal Article

Citation List Month

Backlog

Citation

Veldhuijzen van Zanten Sophie EM; Cruz O; Kaspers Gertjan JL; Hargrave DR; van Vuurden DG; SIOPEDIPG Network, “State of affairs in use of steroids in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma: an international survey and a review of the literature,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 28, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/14550.