A Phase II Study of Pegylated Interferon Alfa 2b (PEG-Intron(Trademark)) in Children With Diffuse Pontine Gliomas
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00036569. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
A Phase II Study of Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2b (Peg-Intron (TM)) in Children With Diffuse Pontine Gliomas
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Diffuse pontine gliomas are tumors on the pons portion of the brainstem. Their peak incidence is in children between 5 and 10 years old. Their location makes surgical resection impossible. Most patients are treated with radiation, which typically delays progression of the tumor for a median time of only about 6 months; median survival time is less than 1 year. The addition of chemotherapy has not improved the outcome. Alpha, beta, and gamma interferons have been used to treat malignant brain tumors, with mixed results. Different doses and different methods of administration have been studied. Alpha interferon is usually given in high doses 2 or 3 times a week, but it has serious side effects at these doses. Recent studies have shown that administering chemotherapy more frequently at smaller doses (metronomic) may have a better effect against the tumor. PEG-Intron(Trademark) is a form of interferon alpha combined with monomethoxy polyethylene glycol (PEG). It has a longer half-life than interferon alone, is administered once a week, and the long half-life reduces the peaks and troughs in blood levels. This study will enroll 32 patients under age 21. The primary goals of the study are to determine if there is a difference in the 2-year survival rate of patients treated with radiation alone and those treated with radiation followed by PEG-Intron(Trademark) and to define the toxicities of PEG-Intron(Trademark) in the study doses. Secondary goals are to evaluate various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques for noninvasive monitoring of changes in the brainstem and to evaluate neuropsychological function. In this study, PEG-Intron(Trademark) will be administered subcutaneously once a week at low doses (0.3 microgram per kilogram of body weight) for a 4-week cycle. The cycles will be repeated indefinitely until progression of disease or serious side effects develop. For less severe effects, the dose will be lowered and the patient may remain in the study. For more severe effects, the dose will be discontinued. Patients in the study may receive supportive medication but may not receive other forms of chemotherapy. Patients or their caregivers will be instructed in how to inject the drug. Patients and/or caregivers will be asked to maintain a diary documenting the dose, site of administration, and any side effects. The diary will be reviewed at each National Cancer Institute (NCI) visit. Patients will return to NCI before cycles 2 and 3. If there are no significant side effects, patients may then return to NCI before every other cycle, indefinitely (i.e., before cycles 5, 7, 9, etc.). Patients will undergo the following tests and procedures: * Physical examination, including neurologic exam, monthly * Complete blood count, differential, and platelet count weekly during cycle 1 and every 2 weeks thereafter if no severe side effects occur * Blood chemistries weekly during cycle 1 and every 2 weeks thereafter if no severe side effects occur * Endocrine function tests before each cycle * Urinalysis before each cycle * MRI of the brain before cycles 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and every other month; patients may also have proton magnetic spectroscopic imaging performed at the time of the MRI
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT00036569
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Enrollment
- 32 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- adjuvant therapy Procedure
- pegylated interferon alfa Biological
Procedure · Biological
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- Up to 21 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Apr 30, 2002
- Primary completion
- Nov 30, 2010
- Completion
- Dec 31, 2011
- Last update posted
- Feb 12, 2012
2002 – 2012
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike | Bethesda | Maryland | 20892 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00036569, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Feb 12, 2012 · Synced Sep 8, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT00036569 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.