Study of the Effect of GM-CSF on Macrophages in Ependymoma

Inclusion Criteria: * Age \> 12 months and \< 21 years at the time of study enrollment. * Patients must be one of the following: • Newly diagnosed with posterior fossa ependymoma with a subtotal resection at initial surgery. These patients will be eligible for stratum 1. * Be in first relapse of their posterior fossa ependymoma. These patients will be eligible for stratum 2. * Histologically confirmed diagnosis of intracranial ependymoma . * Pre or post-operative MR imaging of the brain demonstrates no evidence of non-contiguous spread beyond the primary site * Pre or post-operative MR imaging of the spine demonstrates no evidence of non-contiguous spread beyond the primary site * Pre-operative CSF cytology obtained from the lumbar CSF space demonstrated no evidence of non-contiguous spread beyond the primary site. • The requirement for lumbar CSF examination may be waived if deemed to be medically contraindicated. * Patients must meet one of the following performance scores. • ECOG performance status scores of 0, 1, or 2. * Karnofsky score of ≥ 50 for patients \> 16 years of age or Lansky score of ≥ 50 for patients ≤ 16 years of age * Organ Function Requirements: Adequate renal function defined as: * Creatinine clearance or radioisotope GFR ³ 70ml/min/1.73 m2 or * A serum creatinine based on age/gender as follows: Age Maximum Serum Creatinine (mg/dL) Male Female 1 month to \< 6 months 0.4 0.4 6 months to \< 1 year 0.5 0.5 1 to \< 2 years 0.6 0.6 2 to \< 6 …