Computed tomography in management of medulloblastomas

The neuroradiological studies of 116 patients with histologically verified medulloblastomas, which had been examined with plain and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), were reviewed. The typical CT appearances of a well-defined, hyperdense enhancing mass in the vermis, with surrounding oedema, occurred in 60% of this series. Atypical features include calcification (17%), cystic or necrotic regions (47%) or poorly defined margins and lack of enhancement (7%). Such features in a vermis mass presenting in the first decade, especially in a boy, should not be considered against the diagnosis of medulloblastoma, but may be misleading when the tumour predominantly involves a cerebellar hemisphere.