Medulloblastoma

Excerpt

While leukemias are the most common type of malignancy to afflict the pediatric population, brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in this age group. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in children constituting nearly 20% of all pediatric brain tumors. It is categorized as an embryonal neuroepithelial tumor of the cerebellum.

This is a high-grade tumor that has a propensity to spread via the cerebrospinal fluid.

Within the first few years of diagnosis, mortality approximates 15%; however, cure rates can reach as high as 60% with current therapeutic modalities. Surgical resection preceded and/or followed by radiation and chemotherapy is the mainstay of therapy, with five-year survival rates of between 50% to 90%. This wide range is multifactorial, owing in part to age at diagnosis, the presence of metastases at diagnosis, and a histologic variant of medulloblastoma. Regardless of long-term survival, treatment-related cognitive, neurologic, and endocrinologic effects remain a debilitating concern and an impetus for the search for further therapeutic modalities.