PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
I. Estimate the rates of objective response observed prior to disease progression during the first four courses of treatment with bevacizumab and irinotecan hydrochloride in pediatric patients with recurrent, progressive, or refractory malignant glioma (Stratum A [closed to accrual as of 4/21/2009]) or recurrent/progressive/refractory intrinsic brain stem glioma (Stratum B [closed to accrual as of 4/21/2009]).
II. Estimate the rates of objective response observed prior to disease progression during the first four courses of treatment with bevacizumab and irinotecan hydrochloride in patients with recurrent or progressive medulloblastoma (Stratum C [closed to accrual as of 10/27/2009]) or recurrent or progressive ependymoma (Stratum D [closed to accrual as of 7/29/2010]).
III. Estimate the sustained disease stabilization rate associated with bevacizumab and irinotecan in patients with recurrent or progressive low grade glioma (Stratum E [closed to accrual as of 7/29/2010]).
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. Estimate the rate of treatment-related toxicity of this regimen in these patients.
II. Estimate the cumulative incidence of sustained objective responses as a function of this regimen in these patients.
III. Estimate the distributions of survival and event-free survival of these patients.
IV. Correlate functional changes in tumor with progression-free survival and response using MR perfusion/diffusion imaging and fludeoxyglucose F 18 positron emission tomography.
OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to tumor type (high-grade glioma [closed to accrual as of 4/21/2009] vs intrinsic brain stem tumor [closed to accrual as of 4/21/2009] vs medulloblastoma [closed to accrual as of 10/27/2010] vs ependymoma [closed to accrual as of 7/29/2010] vs low grade glioma [closed to accrual as of 7/29/2010]).
Patients receive bevacizumab IV over 30-90 minutes on days 1 and 15 and irinotecan hydrochloride IV over 90 minutes on day 16 or 17 for course 1. Patients receive bevacizumab and irinotecan hydrochloride on days 1 and 15 for all subsequent courses. Treatment repeats every 4 weeks for up to 24 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Patients undergo MRIs of the brain, magnetic resonance perfusion/diffusion, and fludeoxyglucose F 18 positron emission tomography at baseline and periodically during treatment.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed for 30 days and then every 3 months for up to 2 years.