Medulloblastoma--a retrospective analysis

A retrospective review of 45 patients was undertaken at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to assess the outcome and prognostic factors for these patients who received post operative radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy for medulloblastoma. The median age at diagnosis was 11 years, with 34 males and 11 female patients. Thirty four tumours were confined to midline structures, and 11 were localised to one cerebellar hemisphere or involved midline and lateral structures. Complete macroscopic removal was achieved in 24 patients and subtotal removal in 21 patients. Forty one patients underwent craniospinal irradiation and 27 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Median overall and disease free survival was 57 and 31 months respectively and 3 year overall survival was 76%. The addition of adjuvant chemotherapy was a significant factor for disease free survival (p = 0.01) whereas extent of surgery (total vs subtotal, p = 0.01) was a significant factor for overall survival only. Eleven patients developed recurrent disease, with ten relapsing first in the posterior fossa.