[Occurrence and prognosis of medulloblastoma in adult persons]

Between 1962 and 1981, 37 patients with histologically proved medulloblastomas have been treated at the hospitals of the University of Münster. 17 patients died immediately after operation or were, when admitted, in such a bad condition that any therapy was impossible. Since about 1972, the therapy of choice is the operation and post-irradiation of the neurocranium with saturating irradiation of the posterior cranial fossa as well as irradiation of the complete cerebrospinal system down to the second sacral vertebra, because the tumor tends to spinal formation of metastases. Among our patients, twelve were treated in this manner. Before this time, patients were only operated and submitted to an irradiation of the posterior cranial fossa. Eight patients were treated according to this incomplete therapy scheme, five of whom were younger than twelve and three older than fourty years. The tumor was situated in one side of the cerebellum in the three adult patients. The children had a shorter survival time than the adults, except one four years old child who survives already 228 months after the treatment and has to be considered as cured. Our medical records showed at the same time that the course of this disease is considerably worse in infants up to three years than in older patients.