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2302 citation(s) found for "El‐Am, Edward".

Efficacy and safety of everolimus in patients with advanced low- or intermediate-grade pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors previously treated with chemotherapy: RADIANT-3 subgroup analysis.
Hobday, Timothy J. , Wolin, Edward M. , Panneerselvam, Ashok, Castellana, Ramon, Stergiopoulos, Sotirios, Shah, Gaurav, Shah, Manisha H. , Pommier, Rodney F. , Lombard‐Bohas, Catherine , Yao, James C. , Cutsem, Eric Van

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 31 | Issue: 4_suppl | Pages: 224-224

10.1200/jco.2013.31.4_suppl.224 Get It

224 Background: In the phase 3 RADIANT-3 trial, everolimus (EVE) demonstrated significantly improved median progression-free survival (PFS) versus placebo (PBO) (11.0 vs 4.6 months; HR=0.35, p < 0.0001) in patients (pts) with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) (Yao et al, NEJM, 2011). Here we present a planned exploratory analysis by prior chemotherapy (chemo) use. Methods: Pts with progressive low- or intermediate-grade pNET were prospectively stratified by prior chemo use and randomized (1:1) to EVE 10 mg/d (n = 207) or PBO (n = 203) plus best supportive care. Results: Of the 410 pts, 206 (50%) had received prior chemo and 204 (50%) were chemo naive. Baseline characteristics (age, sex, race, tumor type, histologic grade) and baseline tumor biomarker levels were similar for pts with/without prior chemo. More chemo-naive pts were newly diagnosed (time since initial diagnosis ≤ 6 mo: 50 [25%] vs. 7 [3%] pts with prior chemo). A lower proportion of chemo-naive pts received prior somatostatin therapy (45% vs. 54% prior chemo). EVE significantly prolonged median PFS regardless of prior chemo use (with prior chemo: 11.0 vs. 3.2 months; HR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.25-0.49, p < 0.001; chemo naive: 11.4 vs. 5.4 months; HR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.29-0.60; p < 0.001). Stable disease was the best overall response in 73% of EVE-treated pts irrespective of prior chemo use. The benefit from EVE irrespective of prior chemo was further demonstrated by disease stabilization or minor tumor shrinkage and in the lower incidence of progressive disease in waterfall plots. Safety of EVE was consistent regardless of prior chemo use. The most common drug-related adverse events (chemo vs chemo naive) included rash (53% vs. 52%), stomatitis (52% vs. 56%), diarrhea (41% vs. 52%), and fatigue (37% vs. 51%). Conclusions: This planned subgroup analysis demonstrated the beneficial effects of EVE in pts with pNET regardless of prior chemo use. These findings support the possible first-line use of EVE for pts with pNET.
Molecular and clinical characterization of 1,577 primary prostate cancer tumors to reveal novel clinical and biological insights into its subtypes.
Feng, Felix Y. , Tomlins, Scott A. , Alshalalfa, Mohammed , Erho, Nicholas , Yousefi, Kasra, Zhao, Shuang , Dicker, Adam P. , Karnes, R. Jeffrey , Jenkins, Robert B. , Den, Robert B. , Schaeffer, Edward M. , Klein, Eric A. , Magi‐Galluzzi, Cristina , Trock, Bruce J , Marzo, Angelo M. De , Davicioni, Elai , Dicker, Adam P

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 33 | Issue: 7_suppl | Pages: 9-9

10.1200/jco.2015.33.7_suppl.9 Get It

9 Background: Prostate cancer molecular subtypes based on ETS gene fusions and SPINK1 were originally identified through outlier gene expression profiling analysis. Such molecular subtypes may have utility in disease stratification and clonality assessment, complementing available purely prognostic tests. Hence, we determined the analytical validity of molecular subtyping in a large sample of PCa treated with radical prostatectomy. Methods: We analyzed Affymetrix Human Exon 1.0ST GeneChip expression profiles for 1,577 patients from 8 radical prostatectomy (RP) cohorts. Multi-feature random forest classifiers and outlier analysis were used to define microarray-based molecular subtypes. Results: A random forest (RF) classifier was trained and validated to predict ERG fusion status using a subset with known ERG rearrangement status defined by FISH, achieving >95% sensitivity and specificity in the validation subset. Less frequent rearrangements involving other ETS genes or SPINK1 over-expression were predicted based on gene expression outlier analysis. Across cohorts, 45%, 9% 8% and 38% of PCa were classified as ERG+, ETS+, SPINK+, and Triple Negative, respectively. Global gene expression analysis shows that the four subtypes could be collapsed into three entities (ERG+, ETS+ and SPINK+/Triple Negative) based on expression patterns and clinical characteristics similarity. A series of multivariable analyses further revealed, ERG+ to be associated with lower pre PSA and Gleason scores but more likely to have EPE and occur in patients with European American ancestry compared to the ETS+, SPINK+/Triple Negative tumors (p<0.001). In contrast, patients with ETS+ were more likely to have SVI compared to both ERG+ and SPINK/Triple Negative (p=0.01), while SPINK+/Triple Negative had higher Gleason scores and were more likely to occur in African Americans (p<0.001). Conclusions: The Decipher platform can accurately determine ERG rearrangement status and PCa molecular subtypes. Inclusion of molecular subtyping, such as m-ERG status, may enable additional precision medicine opportunities in prognostic tests
Association between provider-level factors and lymph node dissection outcomes during radical prostatectomy: A national cancer database analysis.
Kiechle, Jonathan, Wang, Elyn, Gross, Cary P. , Abouassaly, Robert , Cherullo, Edward E., Smaldone, Marc C. , Shah, Nilay D., Sun, Maxine , Kim, Simon P. , Yu, James B. , Trinh, Quoc‐Dien

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 33 | Issue: 7_suppl | Pages: 89-89

10.1200/jco.2015.33.7_suppl.89 Get It

89 Background: Lymph node counts have been proposed as a quality metric for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). It is unclear whether surgical approach and hospital characteristics independently determine the number of lymph nodes removed at PLND. Therefore, we assessed the variation in lymph node counts from a population-based cohort of patients undergoing surgery for intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer. Methods: Using the National Cancer Database, we identified all surgically treated patients diagnosed with pre-treatment intermediate or high-risk prostate cancer from 2010 to 2011. The primary outcome was the number of lymph nodes retrieved at the time of RP. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess for differences in the adjusted number of lymph nodes retrieved after accounting for patient and hospital characteristics and surgical approach. Results: Overall, 35,876 patients were diagnosed with intermediate (61.2%) and high-risk (38.8%) prostate cancer and underwent RP and PLND. On multivariable analysis, open radical prostatectomy (ORP) and high volume and academic hospitals were independently associated with greater lymph node counts compared to robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and medium/low and community hospitals, respectively (all p<0.001). After adjusting for patient and hospital variables, higher adjusted lymph nodes counts were observed for ORP compared to RARP (7.1 vs. 6.1; p<0.001). Adjusted counts were also higher for high volume compared to medium/low volume hospitals (7.8 vs. 5.9; p<0.001), and academic compared to community hospitals (7.3 vs. 5.6; p<0.001). Conclusions: Among patients with aggressive prostate cancer treated with RP and PLND, lymph node counts varied by surgical approach and hospital characteristics.
NETTER-1 phase III: Progression-free survival, radiographic response, and preliminary overall survival results in patients with midgut neuroendocrine tumors treated with 177-Lu-Dotatate.
Wolin, Edward M. , Chasen, Beth, Kulke, Matthew H. , Caplin, Martyn , Baum, Richard P. , Kunz, Pamela L. , Hobday, Timothy J. , Hendifar, Andrew , Öberg, Kjell E., Sierra, Maribel Lopera , Kwekkeboom, Dik J., Ruszniewski, Philippe, Krenning, Eric P. , Strosberg, Jonathan , Bushnell, David

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 4_suppl | Pages: 194-194

10.1200/jco.2016.34.4_suppl.194 Get It

194 Background: Currently, there are limited therapeutic options for patients with advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumors progressing on first-line somatostatin analog therapy. Methods: NETTER-1 is the first Phase III multicentric, randomized, controlled trial evaluating 177Lu-DOTA0-Tyr3-Octreotate (Lutathera) in patients with inoperable, progressive, somatostatin receptor positive midgut NETs. 230 patients with Grade 1-2 metastatic midgut NETs were randomized to receive Lutathera 7.4 GBq every 8 weeks (x4 administrations) versus Octreotide LAR 60 mg every 4-weeks. The primary endpoint was PFS per RECIST 1.1 criteria, with objective tumor assessment performed by an independent reading center every 12 weeks. Secondary objectives included objective response rate, overall survival, toxicity, and health-related quality of life. Results: Enrolment was completed in February 2015, with a target of 230 patients randomized (1:1) in 36 European and 15 sites in the United States. At the time of statistical analysis, the number of centrally confirmed disease progressions or deaths was 23 in the Lutathera group and 67 in the Octreotide LAR 60 mg group. The median PFS was not reached for Lutathera and was 8.4 months with 60 mg Octreotide LAR [95% CI: 5.8-11.0 months], p < 0.0001, with a hazard ratio of 0.21 [95% CI: 0.13-0.34]. Within the current evaluable patient dataset for tumor responses (n = 201), the number of CR+PR was 19 (18.8%) in the Lutathera group and 3 (3.0%) in the Octreotide LAR 60 mg group (p < 0.0004). Although the OS data were not mature enough for a definitive analysis, the number of deaths was 13 in the Lutathera group and 22 in the Octreotide LAR 60 mg group (p < 0.019 at interim analysis) which suggests an improvement in overall survival. Conclusions: The Phase III NETTER-1 trial provides evidence for a clinically meaningful and statistically significant increase in PFS and ORR, and also suggests a survival benefit in patients with advanced midgut NETs treated with Lutathera. Clinical trial information: NCT01578239.
Deciphering the genomic fingerprint of small cell prostate cancer with potential clinical utility.
Alshalalfa, Mohammed , Haddad, Zaid , Ross, Ashley E. , Karnes, R. Jeffrey , Tsai, Harrison , Davicioni, Elai , Schaeffer, Edward M. , Lotan, Tamara Levin

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 2_suppl | Pages: 303-303

10.1200/jco.2016.34.2_suppl.303 Get It

303 Background: Small cell (SC) neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate has very poor prognosis and does not respond well to androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapies. Neuroendocrine prostate carcinomas are increasingly recognized to show a spectrum of morphologic changes, and may not always be distinguishable from adenocarcinoma (adeno) based on morphology alone. Here we hypothesize that SC carcinoma harbor a unique gene expression signature that, when measured in primary prostatic adenocarcinoma, may help guide subsequent management. Methods: In total, 617 whole genome expression profiles were retrieved from the Decipher GRID providing gene expression data for 1.4 million markers. 17 morphologically-diagnosed SC carcinoma samples were compared to 32 Gleason 8-10 and 77 Gleason 6 RP adeno samples with no prior treatment and no evidence of metastasis, and this comparison was used to define SC Genomic Fingerprint (SCGFt) through adjusted median fold difference and Wilcoxon test. An additional 493 RP adeno from Mayo Clinic and John Hopkins Hospital were used to evaluate the utility of the SCGFt for predicting outcome. Results: Based on genomic prognostic tests calculated using the Decipher assay including Decipher, Penney and microarray-derived Cell Cycle Progression, SC carcinomas have very poor prognosis compared to high grade adeno. A total of 356 genes defined the SCGFt with 258 gene upregulated in SC and 98 down-regulated. PEG10, HELLS and RB1-loss program are the most overexpressed genes in SC and AR-related genes the most down-regulated. As expected, SC lacked ERG and alternative ETS expression and showed relatively low SPINK1 expression. A median summarization of the 356 genes in SCGFt was used to build a small cell genomic score (SCGS). Evaluating SCGS in RP adeno cohorts showed that patients with high SCGS are at higher risk of developing metastasis after RP in a natural history cohort or after adjuvant hormonal therapy based on Kaplan Meier analysis (both p< 0.001). When restricted to patients with high Decipher scores, SCGS provided independent prognostic information. Conclusions: SC carcinoma has a distinct genomic profile that may be useful for treatment management of patients with adenocarcinoma.
The relationship of B7H3 expression to androgen and prostate cancer outcomes in a large natural history cohort of men undergoing prostatectomy.
Ross, Ashley E. , Zhao, Shuang G. , Takhar, Mandeep, Erho, Nicholas , Hurley, Paula J. , Tosoian, Jeffrey J. , Alshalalfa, Mohammed , Karnes, Jeffrey , Drake, Charles G. , Feng, Felix Y. , Benzon, Benjamin , Zhao, Shuang G , Haffner, Michael C. , Glavaris, Stephanie A. , Simons, Brian W. , Tran, Phuoc T , Davicioni, Elai , Schaeffer, Edward M.

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 2_suppl | Pages: 256-256

10.1200/jco.2016.34.2_suppl.256 Get It

256 Background: B7-H3 (CD276), part of the B7 superfamily, has been shown to play an immunomodulatory role, however its regulation, receptor and mechanism of action remain unclear. Protein levels of B7-H3 have been previously shown to relate to prostate cancer outcomes and currently, humanized monoclonal antibodies are being developed for clinical use (MGA271, Macrogenics). Here we use genomic expression data to examine the relationship of B7-H3 to prostate cancer outcomes and molecular subtypes. Methods: Prostatectomy tissue from 905 patients were profiled using the Affymetrix HuEx 1.0 ST microarray. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to identify significant associations of B7-H3 expression with clinico-pathologic variables, and survival analysis were used to evaluate the prognostic value of B7-H3. Pearson’s correlation analyses were also performed to assess the relationship of B7-H3 expression with molecular subtypes and individual transcripts. Androgen receptor (AR) occupancy of promoter regions was derived in silico from chromosomal immune-precipitation (ChIP) data. Results: B7-H3 expression was positively associated with Gleason score (p < 0.01) and tumor stage (p < 0.01). High B7-H3 expression also correlated with the development of metastasis and prostate cancer specific mortality (HR of 3.4 and 2.4 respectively, p < 0.05 for both), but this was not significant on multi-variable analysis. B7-H3 was positively associated with ERG+ disease (n = 670, r = 0.85, p < 0.05) and AR expression (n = 670, r = 0.46, p < 0.001). B7-H3 was found to be one of the most correlated genes with AR (95th percentile) and ChIP analysis revealed AR binding upstream of B7-H3, suggesting potential androgen dependent regulation. Conclusions: B7-H3 expression correlates with high Gleason grade and advanced prostate cancer stage with higher quartiles of expression portending poor oncologic outcomes in two independent prostatectomy cohorts. B7-H3 expression appears to relate to the androgen receptor.
Efficacy of early and delayed radiation in a prostatectomy cohort adjusted for genomic and clinical risk.
Yousefi, Kasra, Tosoian, Jeffrey J. , Thompson, Darby J. S., Choeurng, Voleak, Haddad, Zaid , Trabulsi, Edouard J. , Gomella, Leonard G. , Lallas, Costas D. , Feng, Felix Y. , Dicker, Adam P. , Freedland, Stephen J. , Karnes, Jeffrey , Ross, Ashley E. , Den, Robert B. , Trock, Bruce J , Davicioni, Elai , Tran, Phuoc T , Abdollah, Firas , Schaeffer, Edward M. , Dicker, Adam P

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 2_suppl | Pages: 12-12

10.1200/jco.2016.34.2_suppl.12 Get It

12 Background: In 3 published randomized trials, adjuvant radiation therapy (ART) for prostate cancer (PCa) resulted in improved progression free survival. However, the impact on metastases and overall survival is unclear. To date, there have been no published prospective trials examining the impact of salvage radiation therapy (SRT) in this disease state. Hence, we conducted a retrospective, nonrandomized comparative study of ART, SRT, or no radiation following radical prostatectomy (RP) for men with pT3 disease or positive margins (adverse pathologic features, APF). Methods: 422 PCa men treated at 4 institutions with RP and having APF were analyzed with a primary end point of clinical metastasis. ART (n = 111), early SRT (n = 70) and delayed SRT (n = 83) were defined by PSA levels of < 0.2, 0.2 to 0.5, and ≥ 0.5 ng/mL, respectively, prior to RT initiation. Remaining 157 men who did not receive additional therapy prior to metastatic onset formed the no RT arm. Clinical-genomic risk was assessed by CAPRA-S and Decipher. Cox multivariable (MVA) model was used to evaluate the impact of treatment on outcome. Results: During study follow-up, 37 men developed metastasis with a median follow-up of 8 years. Both CAPRA-S and Decipher had independent predictive value on MVA for metastatic outcome (both p < 0.05). On MVA adjusting for clinical-genomic risk, delayed SRT and no RT had an HR of 4.31 (95%CI, 1.20-15.47) and 5.42 (95% CI, 1.59-18.44) for metastasis compared to ART. No significance difference was observed between early SRT and ART (p = 0.28). Men with low to intermediate CAPRA-S and low Decipher have a low rate of metastatic events regardless of treatment selection. In contrast, men with high CAPRA-S and Decipher benefit from ART, however the cumulative incidence of metastasis remains high. Conclusions: The decision as to the timing and need for additional local therapy following RP is nuanced and requires providers and men to balance risks of morbidity with improved oncologic outcomes. This analysis provides the most robust and accurate quantification of risk for these men. Post-RP treatment can be safely avoided for men who are low risk by clinical-genomic risk, whereas those at high risk should favor enrollment in clinical trials.
Development and validation of an ADT resistance signature to predict adjuvant hormone treatment failure.
Karnes, Jeffrey , Ashab, Hussam Al-Deen, Ross, Ashley E. , Tosoian, Jeffrey J. , Erho, Nicholas , Choeurng, Voleak, Yousefi, Kasra, Haddad, Zaid , Feng, Felix Y. , Dicker, Adam P. , Jenkins, Robert B. , Trock, Bruce J , Tsai, Harrison , Abdollah, Firas , Klein, Eric A. , Nguyen, Paul L. , Den, Robert B. , Davicioni, Elai , Lotan, Tamara Levin , Schaeffer, Edward M. , Dicker, Adam P

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 2_suppl | Pages: 106-106

10.1200/jco.2016.34.2_suppl.106 Get It

106 Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is one of the main treatment options for locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancer. Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is inherently less sensitive or even resistant to ADT. NEPC can be observed de novo (e.g., small cell prostate cancer) but more commonly arises after exposure to ADT. We hypothesized that a gene expression signature of NEPC when measured in primary tumor specimens (RP) of prostatic adenocarcinoma may be useful for predicting patients with innate resistance to ADT. Methods: Expression profiles of 1023 PCa patients treated with RP were obtained from the Decipher GRID database. These were split into training (n=529) and validation (n=494) sets and stratified by the receipt of adjuvant ADT (n=243) or no adjuvant ADT (n=780). A literature review of ADT resistance and neuroendocrine genes identified 1,557 genes as candidates. This set was further filtered, using logistic regression to select a 52-gene ADT resistance signature (ARS). ARS was trained using a generalized linear model with lasso regularization. Survival c-index and Kaplan Meier was used to compare survival differences between treated and untreated patients with high and low ARS scores (defined by median split). Results: In validation cohorts, the ARS was predictive of metastasis in cohorts receiving adjuvant ADT (10-year metastasis free survival c-index of 0.69 (95% CI 0.59-0.78) as compared to 0.45 (95% CI 0.29-0.61) in patients not treated with ADT). Similarly in a separate cohort of untreated patients that received no ADT until after metastatic onset, ARS was not prognostic (c-index 0.53). Among ADT treated patients, those with low ARS scores had a 10 year MFS of 87%, versus 70% in those with high ARS scores (p<0.001). In the subset of men who received ADT after metastatic onset and who developed castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC, n = 41), median time to treatment failure was 1 year in patients with high ARS compared to 2 years for those with low ARS scores (p=0.07). Conclusions: A 52-gene ADT resistance signature was developed which showed significant differences in metastasis-free survival among adjuvant hormone treated but not untreated patients.
Contemporary treatment patterns and short-term outcomes in men with very high-risk prostate cancer.
Tosoian, Jeffrey J. , Sundi, Debasish , Chapin, Brian F. , Chappidi, Meera R. , Karnes, R. Jeffrey , Ross, Ashley E. , Antonarakis, Emmanuel S. , Alam, Ridwan , Glavaris, Stephanie A. , Pienta, Kenneth J , Tran, Phuoc T , Schaeffer, Edward M.

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 34 | Issue: 2_suppl | Pages: 103-103

10.1200/jco.2016.34.2_suppl.103 Get It

103 Background: Beginning in 2014, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recognized very high-risk (VHR) prostate cancer (cT3b-T4, or primary Gleason pattern 5, or more than 4 biopsy cores with Gleason score 8-10, or multiple HR features) as a classification distinct from high-risk (HR) disease. Using prospectively collected institutional data, we describe contemporary treatment patterns and short-term outcomes in the VHR population. Methods: Men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) between January 2010 and June 2015 were identified using the Johns Hopkins RP database, and trends in management were compared across the study period. Pathological and short-term clinical outcomes were assessed in men with VHR cancer. Non organ-confined disease (NOCD) was defined as ≥ pT3 disease or lymph node positivity, persistent postoperative PSA as ≥ 0.2 ng/mL, and biochemical recurrence (BCR) as a PSA ≥ 0.2 ng/mL following an initial undetectable postoperative PSA. Results: During the study period, 4,954 men underwent RP, of which 161 (3.2%) men had VHR cancer at diagnosis. The annual proportion of men who underwent RP with VHR cancer increased over the study period (chronologically 1.8%, 1.0%, 3.3%, 4.1%, 5.6%, and 5.2%; p<0.001). Sixteen percent of men with VHR disease were enrolled in pre-surgical clinical trials, with an increase from 0% of men in 2010 to 19.1% in 2015 (p=0.11). At RP, 39% of the VHR cohort had seminal vesicle invasion, 26% had lymph node involvement, and a total of 74% had NOCD. Following surgery, 33% of men had PSA persistence, and 40% experienced either PSA persistence or BCR during follow-up (median 13.4 months). Of 136 men with at least one follow-up assessment, 15 (11.0%) developed metastasis; 33% of the cohort was treated with radiation therapy, 42% with androgen deprivation, and 15% with docetaxel. Conclusions: The VHR population carries the greatest risk of clinical progression following local treatment. Over the past five years, we have observed increasing surgical treatment and clinical trial enrollment at our institution. Continued assessment of post-operative interventions and outcomes will help to facilitate counseling and establish point estimates from which to power clinical trials.
Phase II Trial of Primary Chemotherapy Followed by Reduced-Dose Radiation for CNS Germ Cell Tumors
Buckner, Jan C. , Peethambaram, Prema P. , Smithson, William A., Groover, Robert V., Schomberg, Paula J., Kimmel, David W., Raffel, Corey , OʼFallon, Judith R., Shaw, Edward G. , Neglia, Joseph P.

Mayo Clinic

Journal of Clinical Oncology | February 24, 2017 | Volume: 17 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 933-933

10.1200/jco.1999.17.3.933 | PMID 10071287 Get It

PURPOSE: A prospective phase II study was initiated to assess the response rate, survival, and late effects of treatment in patients with newly diagnosed CNS germ cell tumors (GCT), using etoposide plus cisplatin followed by radiation therapy prescribed by extent of disease, histology, and response to chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventeen patients aged 8 to 24 years with histologically proven CNS GCT received etoposide (100 mg/m2/d) plus cisplatin (20 mg/m2/d) daily for 5 days every 3 weeks for four cycles, followed by radiation therapy. Nine patients had germinomas; eight had mixed GCT. Four patients (three with germinomas and one with mixed GCT) presented with leptomeningeal dissemination. RESULTS: Radiographically, 14 of 17 patients were assessable for response; 11 patients experienced complete regression, and three had major partial regression before radiation. Six of seven assessable patients with elevated CSF levels of alpha-fetoprotein or beta–human chorionic gonadotropin had normalization with chemotherapy alone; all normalized with combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy. All 17 patients are alive without evidence of disease (median follow-up, 51 months). One patient developed a relapse in the spinal leptomeninges and was rendered free of disease with spinal radiation more than 5 years ago. One patient developed carotid stenosis requiring surgery. Thus far, only minimal long-term deterioration in neurocognitive function has been detected as a consequence of protocol treatment. CONCLUSION: Conventional-dose intravenous chemotherapy with etoposide and cisplatin can effect tumor regression in a high proportion of patients with CNS GCT, including those with leptomeningeal metastases. Acute and long-term toxicities are acceptable. Progression-free survival and overall survival are excellent.