| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2006 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 2 | Page : 49-55 |
Medulloblastoma in children: Birmingham experience
Anil Sivasankaran, Spyros Sgouros, Richard Walsh, Anthony Hockley
Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Correspondence Address:
Anil Sivasankaran
67, Persiaran Blm 2, Bandar Laguna Merbok, 08000, Sungai Petan, Kedah, Malaysia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/1817-1745.27453
A retrospective review of 41 children diagnosed with medulloblastoma in Birmingham (United Kingdom) between 1992-2002 presented. The age of the patients ranged from 2 weeks to 14.1 years (mean 5.89 years) and the mean follow-up was 3.8 years. Children less than 3 years of age fared worse than those over 3 years. The 5-year survival with total and subtotal tumor excision was 61.3 and 40% respectively. Those children who received radiotherapy following surgery had an improved survival of 68% at 5 years as compared to 18% in those who did not receive irradiation. With regards to chemotherapy, the 5-year survival rates were 57% in those who received it and 52% in those who did not. The overall survival was 62% at 5 years for those patients who had postoperative combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy and only 48% for the rest, who received no adjuvant therapy. Age of the patient has a definite influence on overall survival. We found significant statistical difference in survival between patients with total tumor resection and those with subtotal resection. The 5-year survival rate was not directly affected by tumor location, hydrocephalus or ventriculo-peritoneal shunting. Postoperative irradiation and chemotherapy are clearly associated with improved survival.
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