Scoliosis in Children Treated With Photon Craniospinal Irradiation for Medulloblastoma
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 19, 2025
Proton Therapy Delivery and Its Clinical Application in Select Solid Tumor Malignancies
Published on: February 6, 2019
Arnold C Paulino1, Hilary S Suzawa2, ZoAnn E Dreyer2
1Department of Radiation Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; Texas Children's Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
Purpose:
Scoliosis is a well-recognized complication after abdominal radiation therapy but not reported frequently after craniospinal irradiation (CSI). We examined the incidence and risk factors for scoliosis after CSI in long-term survivors with medulloblastoma.
Methods And Materials:
The records of patients with medulloblastoma seen at one institution from 1996 to 2006 were analyzed for the use of CSI and development of scoliosis as documented on physical examination and spinal imaging.
Results:
We identified 35 children with medulloblastoma who were ≤12 years of age at time of CSI with a median 14.3 years (range, 5.8-19.3 years) of follow-up. Twenty-seven (77.1%) were male, and median age at CSI was 6.8 years (range, 2.8-12 years). The cumulative incidence of scoliosis at 15 years was 34.6%. The median time to develop scoliosis was 7.1 years (range, 5-11.7 years) after CSI. Treatment with high dose CSI (34.2-40 Gy) and presence of hemiplegia or hemiparesis were found to be risk factors for development of scoliosis.
Conclusions:
Scoliosis is an underreported complication of photon craniospinal irradiation.
