Targeted Therapy with Sirolimus and Nivolumab in a Child with Refractory Multifocal Anaplastic Ependymoma

Abstract

Pediatric ependymoma (EPN) is the third most common central nervous system (CNS) tumor, with 90% arising intracranially. Management typically involves maximal surgical resection and radiotherapy, but patients’ outcome is poor. Moreover, there are only a few therapeutical options available for recurrent or refractory disease. In this report, we present the case of a 7-year-old girl with relapsed refractory multifocal grade III EPN who failed conventional treatments and experienced a stable and durable response to the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPI) nivolumab in association with the mammalian target of rapamycin (m-TOR) inhibitor sirolimus. This experimental therapy was targeted on immune phenotypical analyses of the patient’s last relapse tumor sample, and this procedure should be routinely done to find new possible therapeutical approaches in recurrent solid tumors.

Keywords

• pediatric
• brain tumors
• immune checkpoint inhibitor