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Updated: Mar 2, 2026
Intracranial Orthotopic Allografting of Medulloblastoma Cells in Immunocompromised Mice
Published on: October 3, 2010
Large cell/anaplastic medulloblastoma is associated with poor prognosis-a retrospective analysis at a single
Pin-I Huang1,2,3, Shih-Chieh Lin3, Yi-Yen Lee3,4
1Division of Radiotherapy, Department of Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei, 11217, Taiwan.
Purpose:
Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most commonly occurring malignant pediatric brain tumor worldwide. However, a recent study found that the treatment outcomes in those with high-risk disease receiving conventional treatment were suboptimal. This study aimed to assess outcomes and treatment strategies for specific histologic subtypes of pediatric MB.
Methods:
A total of 114 pediatric patients (age < 20 years) diagnosed with MB between March 1998 and August 2011 were retrospectively reviewed; 52 that were treated with surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy (CHT) were included.
Results:
The 5-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were 73 and 69%, respectively. Median time to relapse was 17 months with a median survival time of 6 months after relapse. Patients of average risk had a better 5-year OS rate compared with high-risk patients (p = 0.027). The 5-year RFS of high-risk patients was lower compared with average risk (p = 0.038). A greater proportion of patients with large cell/anaplastic (LC/A) MB had recurrence than classic MB with 5-year RFS rate of 34 and 76%, respectively (p = 0.001), and OS rate of 56 and 76%, respectively (p = 0.04).
Conclusion:
High-risk group and histology of LC/A were the most significant factors associated with worse OS and RFS. Patients with LC/A-MB had higher relapse rates and worse survival than those with classic MB. LC/A-MB carries a high risk for recurrence and should be treated with the more aggressive strategies.
