Researchers analyzed 22 studies involving children with high-grade gliomas and diffuse midline gliomas. The study compared two ways of giving immunotherapy: delivering the treatment directly into the skull (intracranial) versus using systemic delivery throughout the body.
The results showed no significant difference in overall survival or 12-month survival between the two methods. This means that, based on this data, the route of administration did not appear to change how long patients lived with these specific brain tumors.
However, a significant safety finding was noted regarding severe neurotoxicity. Patients receiving intracranial treatment showed much higher rates of grade 3 or higher neurotoxicity compared to those receiving systemic treatment. Because of differences in the types of immunotherapy used, it is unclear if this risk comes from the delivery location itself or the specific type of drug used. These findings suggest that while both methods are equally effective for survival, doctors must carefully weigh the risks of severe side effects when choosing a treatment path.
