Dr. Upadhyaya Discusses Drug Development for Pediatric Patients With Brain Tumors

Santhosh Upadhyaya, MD, neuro-oncologist, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, discusses drug development for pediatric patients with brain tumors.

Drug development is challenging, explains Upadhyaya, especially as it relates to pediatric patients with brain tumors because there is always a concern over blood-brain barrier penetration. In the 10-year-long SJYC07 trial presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, results revealed that children with molecularly defined ependymoma and other malignant brain tumors under the age of 3 responded well to radiation therapy. Though the trial showed that children can be safely treated with radiation to improve outcomes, new drugs are needed.

Once a drug is developed and a trial is designed, collaboration is key, notes Upadhyaya. Physicians hope that through this collaboration, new medications will be discovered that target the pathways that are present in pediatric ependymomas.