Multidisciplinary treatment of medulloblastomas in childhood

The analysis of 65 medulloblastomas in children treated at the National Institute of Pediatrics, Mexico City, between 1971 and 1986 is reported. The patients were staged retrospectively. Ninety percent presented without metastasis in the subarachnoid space or the spinal fluid. Following surgery, all patients underwent radiotherapy to the brain, posterior fossa, and spinal cord. For the last 35 patients, chemotherapy was added to the treatment regimen. The actuarial survival was 55% at 6 years in the group with chemotherapy versus 27% to the group without chemotherapy, with a statistically significant difference (P less than 0.01).