Medulloblastoma

Description

Medulloblastoma is a malignant and invasive tumor that begins in the region of the brain at the base of
the skull. These tumors have a tendency to spread to other parts of the brain and the spinal cord.

Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood and accounts for about 20
percent of all childhood brain tumors. The majority of Medulloblastoma tumor is found in children
younger than 16 years old. Medulloblastoma tumors are somewhat more common in boys than girls.

As the tumor is mostly found in children the symptoms that take place are:

 Headaches.
 Morning Nausea or vomiting that slowly gets worse.
 Difficulties in Handwriting.
 Visual problems that are rare at the time of diagnosis.

If the tumor has spread to the spinal cord the symptoms contain

 Trouble in walking.
 Back pain.
 Controlling bladder problems and bowel functions.

Causes: Although exact cause of medulloblastoma is not knowm, latest findings say that
medulloblastoma is associated with certain chromosomal abnormalities which probably occur at some
time during a child's development. One of the possible causes that has been investigated is exposure of
the fetus to specific causative viruses.

Treatment

The three kinds of treatment that are characteristically used to treat Medulloblastoma are:

1. Surgery: Surgery is the well-known process of taking off the tumor and some surrounding healthy
tissue when the operation is taking place.

2. Radiation therapy: The second treatment is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-
rays or other particles to destroy tumor cells. At times radiation therapy can hamper the growth and
development of a child’s brain and spine. In such a situation, the doctor will choose to treat the tumor in
another way. If radiation therapy is the option then the approach will be based on the child’s age.

Chemotherapy is the practice of using drugs to destroy tumor cells, generally by stopping the tumor
cells’ ability to increase and divide. The common ways to give chemotherapy consist of an
intravenous (IV) tube placed into a vein using a needle or in a pill or capsule that is swallowed
(orally).
Complications

After treatment complications of the medullablastoma consist of:

 Tiredness
 Headaches
 Pain around surgical cut
 Constipation
 Nausea and Vomiting
 Problems in talking

Post-Operative Care
After a day or two of the operation, a team of experts works with the child to support him recover from
the operation. This team consists of a physical/occupational therapist, a dietitian, a child life worker, and
a speech-language pathologist.

The parents should talk to these team members about what they can do. For example, their child will
start sitting at the edge of the bed, and continue to sit in a chair one or two days after surgery. The nurse
or physiotherapist will be helpful to the child with this activity.

The parent can also help joining in his daily activities like bathing and dressing. Parents should also help
their child to construct a friendly and healing environment to ensure that the child has familiar items
from home, such as family photos or favorite toys. By controlling the number of visitors will help the
child and the parent from getting too exhausted.