Medulloblastoma in adults--clinical observations and results of treatment

Abstract

Ten cases of medulloblastomas, in patients above the age of 15 years, were treated during a 11 year period. These constituted 18 percent of all medulloblastomas and 1.2 percent of all primary brain tumours in adults during the same period. The majority of patients (80%) were between 16 and 25 years of age, and 80 percent were male. Half the patients presented within three months of the onset of symptoms. The usual clinical presentation was with features of raised intracranial pressure and cerebellar involvement. A lateral location of the tumour and its desmoplastic variant were common. Three patients survived more than five years. The desmoplastic variant and a gross total resection of the tumour favourably affected the prognosis. Posterior fossa recurrence was the chief cause of therapeutic failures. All the recurrences developed within three years of the initial diagnosis, and were fatal within six months of their detection.