Recurrence of medulloblastoma: violation of Collins' law after two decades
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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Isolation, Enrichment, and Maintenance of Medulloblastoma Stem Cells
Published on: September 2, 2010
M H Friedberg1, O David, L S Adelman
1Department of Neurosurgery, Tufts University School of Medicine, Tufts New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
Background:
Medulloblastoma is a common tumor of childhood arising in the posterior fossa. The concept of a child with an embryonal tumor surviving the age of diagnosis plus 9 months as the period of risk for recurrence (Collins' Law) has been applied to medulloblastomas. This raises the question of "when should follow-up stop for a patient with this type of tumor?"
Methods:
We present a case report of a patient with the longest documented exception to Collins' Law for medulloblastoma.
Results:
The longest documented exception to Collins' Law, a medulloblastoma recurring 20 years and 8 months after the period of risk for recurrence is presented. Both the site of recurrence and the histopathology were identical to the original tumor.
Conclusion:
We present the longest documented exception to Collins' Law, to emphasize that even after decades the term "cure" should only be used cautiously.
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