Medulloblastoma in a 38-year-old patient; a case report and literature review

Medulloblastoma (MB), a malignant neuroectodermal tumour, is rare in adults, accounting for 1% of all primary tumours of the central nervous system. Maximum surgical resection followed by craniospinal irradiation with a posterior fossa boost is the standard treatment. Whether adult MB behaves differently from childhood MB, however, is still not clear, and to date no prospective study of this rare brain tumour has been conducted in adults. Thanks to the progress made in recent years partly due to earlier diagnoses and improvements in operative techniques, craniospinal radiotherapy including mega voltage radiation therapy equipment and the inclusion of the spinal neuro-axis within the treatment field, as well as the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk patients, long-term survival is now possible, with the overall survival rate ranging from 50-60% at 5 years and 40-50% at 10 years. At present, chemotherapy is not yet uniformly accepted as a standard treatment for patients with the best prognostic factors. Based on the assumption that the disease pattern in adults is similar to that in children, adults with medulloblastoma are treated using paediatric protocols. We report the case history of a 38-year-old man with medulloblastoma. A subtotal tumour resection, adjuvant craniospinal RT with chemotherapy at the same time and after were performed. The period from the diagnosis to this day is 6 years. This patient is in a good condition without relapse in NMR and late side-effects.