Barcelona leads European strategy against the deadliest childhood brain tumor

Fewer than 1% of children diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma survive five years. Now, a European research consortium led by Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona is preparing an experimental strategy against one of the most lethal childhood brain tumors.

DIPG causes about 300 diagnoses each year in Europe and is usually identified between the ages of 5 and 10, often around age 7. The tumor infiltrates surrounding brain tissue rather than forming a discrete mass, making surgical removal impossible and limiting diagnostic options. Conventional cancer treatments have brought little benefit. Focal radiotherapy remains the main treatment, but it can only provide temporary symptom relief.

The disease follows a rapid and severe course. Children can develop motor difficulties, trouble swallowing, weakness and progressive loss of function. Most drug treatments and clinical trials have produced poor results, leaving families with few options.

The five-year Epica-DIPG project brings together leading pediatric oncology centers, regulatory experts, research organizations, health technology assessment specialists and patient groups from Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. The Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona at Sant Joan de Déu, Italy’s Bambino Gesù Hospital and the Princess Máxima Center in the Netherlands will recruit patients.

The consortium will assess a combination immunotherapy that has not yet been tested in humans, focusing first on its safety and feasibility. It will also develop and validate a complementary diagnostic approach to monitor immune and treatment responses with minimal invasiveness. A further goal is to establish an accessible model for producing and delivering advanced therapies across borders.

“Epica-DIPG does not only ask whether a new treatment strategy can be tested, but whether the entire pathway around this strategy can be scaled up,” said Andrés Morales, the project’s principal investigator and medical director of the Barcelona center. He said clinical trials, monitoring tools, regulatory preparation and treatment delivery must be developed together for a rare childhood cancer such as DIPG.

“

Epica-DIPG does not only ask whether a new treatment strategy can be tested, but whether the entire pathway around this strategy can be scaled up.