ArticleJournal of neuro-oncology2025
Intratumoral tocilizumab in children with cystic craniopharyngiomas: targeted therapy.
Article in Journal of neuro-oncology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Multidisciplinary Management of Pediatric Craniopharyngioma: From Diagnosis to Long-Term Outcomes.Biomedicines · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe craniopharyngioma, although benign, exhibits aggressive behavior due to its capacity to invade the surrounding neurovascular structures. Conventional treatment with surgery and radiotherapy is related to significant morbidity and impact on quality of life. Recent findings prove the increase of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its receptor (IL-6R) in those tumors, making tocilizumab, an anti-IL-6R antibody used for rheumatological diseases, a possible targeted therapy. The present study investigated the safety and effectiveness of the intracystic application of tocilizumab in children with cystic craniopharyngiomas.
methodsLongitudinal prospective analysis of the use of the maximum dose of 3,6 mg/kg of intracystic tocilizumab in seven individuals under 20 years old who have a confirmed diagnosis of cystic adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma. Following an initial dose of 0.8-1.2 mg/kg, patients underwent follow-up imaging. If this revealed cyst progression (defined as any measurable increase or no reduction), a second dose, tripled from the initial, was administered. The follow-up took two years. Tumor cystic volume, IL-6 quantification, tumor fluid color, endocrinological and visual dysfunctions, and patient/main care quality of life before and after treatment were evaluated
resultsOut of nine treated cysts in seven patients, only three of them (33,3%) showed cystic control during the monitoring period. Six of the seven patients (85.7%) exhibited cyst progression following the initial dose, requiring a second, tripled dose as per the study protocol. This repeat administration was performed within a median of 9 months after the initial dose. There was no systemic or local toxicity. The color of the tumor fluid was correlated to the levels of IL-6 (p = 0.05), but not to the clinical outcome. There were no significant changes in the levels of life quality or visual/endocrine functionality. CT and MRI of the brain showed a strong correlation to the evaluation of the cystic volume (p < 0,01).
conclusionThe use of intratumoral tocilizumab was shown to be safe; however, not effective at the frequency and dosage used. The tumor fluid color and IL-6 levels might be related to the prognosis in larger series. Further studies should explore higher doses and frequency when applying it in order to reach a therapeutic optimization.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41212418What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.