Treatment strategies for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare and aggressive malignancy arising in the brainstem of children. In the Netherlands eight to ten children are newly diagnosed with DIPG each year, mostly between the age of five to ten years. To date, DIPG is not curable and with a median overall survival of less than one year, it is still the leading cause of brain tumor-related death in children. The main goal of this thesis is to investigate current and future treatment possibilities suitable for DIPG patients. To do so, we first investigated the current reality of DIPG: clinical trials aiming to improve survival of DIPG patients (Part I). Next, we surveyed the use of complementary and alternative medicine as a result of the lack of effective treatment strategies (Part II). Lastly, we studied the blood-brain barrier as to ultimately improve the selection of drugs qualifying for treatment of DIPG (Part III).