Dr. Upadhyaya on the Design of the SJYC07 Trial in Pediatric Patients With Ependymoma

Santhosh Upadhyaya, MD, neuro-oncologist, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, discusses the design of the 10-year-long SJYC07 trial.

The trial examined the use of radiation therapy for young children under the age of 3 with ependymoma. The protocol first opened in December 2007 with the goal of improving outcomes for children under the age of 3 with highly malignant brain tumors at diagnosis, says Upadhyaya. The concept of the trial was to treat any remaining cancer after surgical resection with chemotherapy and subsequent radiation.

Physicians have known that radiation induces good outcomes in patients with ependymoma, but they did not know what the youngest age was that it could be used in. Another goal of the study, notes Upadhyaya, was to see if children as young as 1 year could receive radiation. Upadhyaya explains that patients in the trial are treated with 4 cycles of chemotherapy, after which neurosurgeons will determine if patients need another resection. Then, patients will receive radiation that specifically targets the tumor bed without exposure to the brain or the spinal cord.