Use of dianhydrogalactitol or derivatives or analogs thereof for treatment of pediatric central nervous system malignancies

The use of dianhydrogalactitol provides a novel therapeutic modality for the treatment of malignancies of the central nervous system in pediatric patients, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) high grade glioma, and medulloblastoma. Dianhydrogalactitol acts as an alkylating agent on DNA that creates N 7 methylation and that can induce double-stranded breaks in DNA. Dianhydrogalactitol is effective in suppressing the growth of cancer stem cells and is active against tumors that are refractory to temozolomide, cisplatin, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors; the drug acts independently of the MGMT repair mechanism. Dianhydrogalactitol can be used together with other anti-neoplastic agents (e.g. cisplatin) and can possess additive or super-additive effects.