The Severity of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliomas (DIPG) and Possible Treatments

Abstract

Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) are aggressive brain tumors that form on the brain stem. They generally come with a very unfortunate prognosis and patients generally have 8-11 months to live. In the last 10 years, research has increased, but the prognosis does not show it. Besides chemotherapy, which has been shown to slightly decrease the size of the tumor, researchers are still searching for better and more effective treatments. DIPG is the most common brain tumor that develops in children and represents 75-80% of pediatric cancers. It is almost universally fatal, impossible to operate on and very difficult to treat. Recent research has showed some promise in finding a possible animal model as well as adding in new strategies for treatments. One of the biggest issues that is run into, is the lack of ability to operate on these tumors to allow for any sort of remission. However, research continues to progress, and hope is evident.