Medulloblastoma in late adults. Case report and critical review of the literature.

Department of Neurosurgery, Mediterranean Neurological Neuromed Institute IRCCS, Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Medulloblastoma in late adults (older than 65 years) is an exceptional occurrence; in fact only 8 cases are reported with complete clinical notes in the literature. METHODS: The authors describe a case of medulloblastoma occurring in a 68-year-old man and analyzed cases reported in the literature. RESULTS: The overall average age of the patients was 72.8 years (range 67-88 years), and the male prevalence of this tumour (70% of cases) seems to be unrelated to age. There is a lateral predominance in late adults (77.7% of cases). Seven patients underwent operation and subsequently these patients underwent a course of radiation therapy. Only two patient was treated with postoperative chemotherapy. Median survival for seven patients treated was 43.2 months (range 23-96 months). CONCLUSIONS: It is interesting to note that: 1) histological analysis revealed a classic type medulloblastoma (88.8% of cases) similar to the children: 2) site of the tumor is lateral similar to the adults (77.7% of cases).

PMID: 11327293 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]