The study aimed to examine the tolerability of the combination of radiotherapy 
and tamoxifen and the effect on median and event free survival as well as 
collecting data on the use of steroids in this population. 31 patients with 
diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, diagnosed on clinical and radiological 
criteria, were treated with high-dose oral tamoxifen (120 mg/m(2)/day) given 
concomitantly with standard dose radiotherapy (54 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions over 6 
weeks). Results Tamoxifen was well tolerated with no grade 3 or 4 CTC toxicity 
reported. At 1 year, the progression free and event free survival were 3.2% (95% 
CI: 0.2-14.1%), and at 6 months 19.4% (CI: 7.9% to 34.6%). The overall survival 
at 1 year was 16.1% (CI: 5.9-30.9%) with median survival 6.32 months. In this 
study, in which tamoxifen was used in conjunction with radiotherapy, progression 
free survival was shown to be less good when compared with historical data HR = 
3.1 (CI: 1.7-5.7). There was no significant reduction in overall survival. The 
addition of high-dose tamoxifen, although well tolerated, confers no clinical 
benefit to patients treated with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma treated with 
standard radiotherapy.