PEG-Interferon Alfa-2b in Treating Young Patients With Plexiform Neurofibroma

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Diagnosis of plexiform neurofibroma which is progressive, symptomatic, or life threatening and for which there is no other standard medical management or surgical option
• Histologic confirmation of tumor is not required in the presence of consistent clinical and radiographic findings provided the following are true:
• * No clinical observation or scan suggestive of malignant transformation
• * Meets ≥ 1 of the following diagnostic criteria for neurofibroma type 1 (NF1):
• * Six or more cafe-au-lait spots (\> 0.5 cm in prepubertal patients or \> 1.5 cm in post pubertal patients)
• * Freckling in axilla or groin
• * Optic glioma
• * Two or more Lisch nodules
• * A distinctive bony lesion (e.g., dysplasia of the sphenoid bone, dysplasia, or thinning of long bone cortex)
• * A first degree relative with NF1
• No history of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor
• No active visual pathway glioma
• No active brain tumor or brain metastases
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Performance status
• ECOG 0-2
• Life expectancy
• At least 12 months
• Hematopoietic
• Absolute neutrophil count \> 1,500/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin \> 10 g/dL
• Platelet count \> 100,000/mm\^3
• Hepatic
• Bilirubin \< 1.5 mg/dL
• SGPT ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal
• No significant hepatic dysfunction
• Renal
• Creatinine based on age as follows:
• * ≤ 0.8 mg/dL (for patients age 5 years and under)
• * ≤ 1.0 mg/dL (for patients age 6 to 10 years)
• * ≤ 1.2 mg/dL (for patients age 11 to 15 years)
• * ≤ 1.5 mg/dL (for patients age 16 to 21 years) OR
• Creatinine clearance ≥ 70 mL/min
• Cardiovascular
• No significant cardiac dysfunction
• No severe cardiovascular disease
• No cardiac arrhythmia requiring chronic treatment
• No congestive heart failure
• No symptomatic ischemic heart disease
• Pulmonary
• No significant pulmonary dysfunction
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• No serious infection
• No other significant unrelated systemic illness
• No significant organ dysfunction
• No other malignancy except surgically cured nonmelanoma skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No history of severe psychiatric condition or psychiatric disorder requiring hospitalization
• No history of suicidal ideation or attempt
• No thyroid dysfunction unresponsive to therapy
• No uncontrolled diabetes mellitus
• No history of HIV positivity
• No alcohol or drug abuse
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• No concurrent immunotherapy
• No concurrent colony-stimulating factors (e.g., erythropoietin or filgrastim \[G-CSF\])
• Chemotherapy
• No concurrent chemotherapy for this disease
• Endocrine therapy
• No concurrent chronic systemic corticosteroids
• No concurrent hormonal therapy for this disease
• Radiotherapy
• No concurrent radiotherapy for this disease
• Surgery
• Prior surgery allowed provided it has been at least 21 days since surgery and there is presence of residual tumor
• Other
• Recovered from prior therapy
• More than 30 days since prior investigational agents