Metronomic Cyclophosphamide With Cisplatin and Bevacizumab for Refractory Anaplastic Ependymoma: A Retrospective Study

Background/aim: Anaplastic ependymoma is a rare cancer of the central nervous system. The treatment includes optimal resection with focal radiotherapy. Some case reports or retrospective studies have suggested efficacy of regimens containing platinum or bevacizumab. We describe the feasibility and clinical benefit of the cisplatin-bevacizumab-cyclophosphamide treatment of anaplastic ependymoma.

Patients and methods: Patients were identified through the Adolescent and Young Adults (AYAS) brain tumor national Web conference. We estimated the median progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

Results: There were eight patients with anaplastic ependymoma, with a median age of 36 years. The median OS was 19.9 months and median PFS was 12.3 months. Three patients obtained partial response, four stable disease, and one patient had disease progression during induction. Six patients received maintenance with a median duration of 224 days.

Conclusion: This study confirms the tolerance of bevacizumab-cyclophosphamide-cisplatin treatment of anaplastic ependymoma. The clinical benefit seems even superior to that described in the literature.