Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0017638 (glioma)
 30,880 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Aziridinylbenzoquinone (AZQ) was studied in a Phase II protocol for persons with glioma of the central nervous system (CNS) recurrent or progressive after surgery and radiotherapy. Patients received AZQ, 30 mg/m2 intravenously every 3 weeks if previously untreated or 27.5 mg/m2 if previously exposed to cytotoxic drugs. Partial response was defined as a reduction of at least 50% reduction in the product of the two longest perpendicular diameters of the indicator lesion persisting for a minimum of 28 days. Twenty-eight patients are evaluable for response at this time. Objective response (OR) occurred in four (14.3%): two complete and two partial. Stabilization of disease (SD) was seen in 7 (25.0%). Median survival, in weeks, was greater than 46.0 for responders, 41.7 for SD, and 19.3 for those with progressive disease. The survival experiences are significantly different (P = 0.030 [Breslow]). The OR rate was 21.1% in 19 without prior chemotherapy and 0% in 9 previously treated patients. There were two AZQ-related deaths in patients with prior exposure to nitrosoureas (1 CNS hemorrhage; 1 aspiration pneumonia). One patient had an anaphylactic reaction. Three patients whose tumor initially increased in size subsequently had marked tumor shrinkage. AZQ is an active agent that must be used with added caution in patients who have received nitrosoureas. Initial tumor enlargement may precede response. Although response appears to prolong survival, the correlation between stabilization of disease and survival is not well-defined.
 ...
PMID:Aziridinylbenzoquinone in recurrent, progressive glioma of the central nervous system. A Phase II study by the Illinois Cancer Council. 402 70

A previously well man presented with several months' history of neurological symptoms including diplopia and balance difficulties. Examination revealed fluctuating neurological deficits, fatigable weakness and slowed saccades. Extensive testing revealed mildly elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein, strongly positive single fiber electromyography and a dorsal pontine lesion at the floor of the 4th ventricle. An autoimmune process was felt to best account for the myasthenic presentation while the differential diagnoses for the brainstem lesion included glioma. Aggressive immunotherapy failed to halt clinical deterioration; over months he developed generalized weakness, aspiration pneumonia and died. Post-mortem analysis revealed glioneuronal tumor infiltration throughout the brainstem, cerebellum and along the meningeal surface. This is an unusual case of an infiltrative brainstem lesion, with the presentation suggesting a primary diagnosis of myasthenia gravis. The progressive nature of the illness, despite aggressive immune therapy, together with slow saccades, underscored a more sinister process. Cerebral imaging should be performed in patients with fluctuating neurological symptoms, progressive deterioration, and ocular, bulbar, respiratory, or pyramidal pattern deficits, and differentials for contrast-enhancing brain lesions should include primary brain tumors. In such cases, biopsy must proceed if the disease is of relatively recent onset, to facilitate diagnosis and maximize treatment opportunities.
 ...
PMID:Glioneuronal brainstem tumor - It's all in the eyes. 3036 80