INTRODUCTION: Medulloblastoma is the most common central nervous system tumour in children aged 0-4 years, with 75% of cases occurring in patients <16 years, and rare in adults. The intent of this audit is to review a single centre's experience and to compare outcomes with other centres' outcomes. METHODS: This Ethics approved retrospective audit evaluates the paediatric population aged <16 years who received radiotherapy as their initial or salvage treatment at the Prince of Wales Hospital Cancer Centre between 1972 and 2007. The primary and secondary end-points were progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS), with comparisons made between patients treated before and after 1990, and the impact of high- and low-risk disease. RESULTS: There were 80 eligible patients, 78 who had radiotherapy at initial presentation, and 2 at the time of recurrence. Median age was 6.5 years, 52 were boys and 28 were girls. Seventy-eight patients had a surgical procedure and ultimately received craniospinal radiotherapy. Of these 78 patients, 32 (40%) had a macroscopically complete resection. The 5-year PFS was 69.7%. The 5-year PFS for patients treated pre and post 1990 was 66.1% and 71.8%, respectively. The 5-year CSS for high- and low-risk patients was 61.1% and 78.4%, respectively. Ultimately, 33% of patients were dead due to disease. CONCLUSION: This audit demonstrates those children referred to this facility for treatment have comparable survival to that of other major centres.
INTRODUCTION:Medulloblastoma is the most common central nervous system tumour in children aged 0-4 years, with 75% of cases occurring in patients <16 years, and rare in adults. The intent of this audit is to review a single centre's experience and to compare outcomes with other centres' outcomes. METHODS: This Ethics approved retrospective audit evaluates the paediatric population aged <16 years who received radiotherapy as their initial or salvage treatment at the Prince of Wales Hospital Cancer Centre between 1972 and 2007. The primary and secondary end-points were progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS), with comparisons made between patients treated before and after 1990, and the impact of high- and low-risk disease. RESULTS: There were 80 eligible patients, 78 who had radiotherapy at initial presentation, and 2 at the time of recurrence. Median age was 6.5 years, 52 were boys and 28 were girls. Seventy-eight patients had a surgical procedure and ultimately received craniospinal radiotherapy. Of these 78 patients, 32 (40%) had a macroscopically complete resection. The 5-year PFS was 69.7%. The 5-year PFS for patients treated pre and post 1990 was 66.1% and 71.8%, respectively. The 5-year CSS for high- and low-risk patients was 61.1% and 78.4%, respectively. Ultimately, 33% of patients were dead due to disease. CONCLUSION: This audit demonstrates those children referred to this facility for treatment have comparable survival to that of other major centres.
Authors: Marc Benderitter; Fabio Caviggioli; Alain Chapel; Robert P Coppes; Chandan Guha; Marco Klinger; Olivier Malard; Fiona Stewart; Radia Tamarat; Peter van Luijk; Charles L Limoli Journal: Antioxid Redox Signal Date: 2014-02-03 Impact factor: 8.401