Abstract: AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of etoposide combined with carboplatin in the treatment of recurrent medulloblastoma in children. METHODS: From January 2011 to June 2014, 72 children (aged 3-15 years) with recurrent medulloblastoma were selected from Childrens Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Zhejiang University. According to the random number table method, they were divided into the CE group and control group, with 36 cases each. The CE group received etoposide + carboplatin for chemotherapy. The control group received classical irinotecan + temozolomide + vincristine chemotherapy. Clinical efficacy, KPS score, PedsQLTM4.0 score, total survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) of children in the two groups were compared, and the occurrence of adverse drug reactions during treatment was recorded. RESULTS:After treatment, CR of CE group and control group was 41.67% (15 cases/36 cases) and 27.78% (10 cases/36 cases), OR of CE group and control group was 94.44% (34 cases/36 cases) and 77.78% (28 cases/36 cases), and there were statistically significant different in these indicators between the groups. There was no significant difference in KPS scores and PedsQLTM4.0 scores between the two groups before treatment (P＞0.05). After treatment, KPS scores of the CE group and the control group were (80±8) and (75±10) points, and PedsQLTM4.0 scores were (89±11) and (84±11) points, and there were statistically significant different in these indicators between the groups (both P<0.05). By the time of the last follow-up, the overall survival rates of the CE group and the control group were 78.8% (26 cases/33 cases) and 55.9% (19 cases/34 cases), respectively, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05), and the EFS rates were 72.7% (24 cases/33 cases) and 52.9% (18 cases/34 cases), respectively, with no statistically significant differences (P＞0.05). A total of 10 cases with severe adverse reactions occurred during chemotherapy in the CE group, with an incidence of 27.78% (10 cases/36 cases), and 9 cases of that occurred during chemotherapy in the control group, with an incidence of 25.00% (9 cases/36 cases), with no statistical significance (P＞0.05). CONCLUSION: Etoposide combined with carboplatin regimen can significantly improve the clinical remission rate and improve the overall survival of children without increasing adverse reactions to chemotherapy, but the effect on event-free survival was not obvious.

Key words: recurrent medulloblastoma, etoposide, children, chemotherapy, safety