Medulloblastoma: tumor biological and clinical perspectives.

Medulloblastoma is the most common central nervous system malignancy of childhood, with approximately 350 new cases seen in the United States each year. Although the low incidence of this tumor, compared with adult neoplasms such as breast or colon carcinoma, has limited laboratory and clinical research, recent studies have greatly enhanced our understanding of the biology, phenotype, genotype, and therapy of medulloblastoma. Further efforts to integrate laboratory and clinical studies of this tumor may allow design of novel therapeutic approaches resulting in enhanced disease-free survival.