Outcome for Medulloblastomas in Children

Survival After Initial Treatment

• Average risk: The 5-year progression-free survival for children with an average-risk tumor is as high as 90%.
• High risk: Even for children with high-risk tumors, the 5-year progression-free survival may exceed 80% (17).

Recurrent Medulloblastoma

• Lower survival rate:  A much lower survival rate is associated with recurrence, with previous reports of a 5-year survival rate of 30% after high-dose chemotherapy with stem-cell rescue (4).

Functional Status

• Side effects of therapies: Survivors have an increased risk of cognitive decline, endocrinopathies, second malignancies, and a variety of additional complications associated with both radiation therapy and chemotherapy (6, 9, 10, 16).