Standard Treatment Surgery followed by irradiation to the brain and spine. Chemotherapy is used after surgery in children too young to undergo irradiation or in cases where tumor remains after surgery and irradiation.
Medulloblastomas tend to spread throughout the nervous system. Scans of the brain and spine, along with cerebrospinal fluid cytology , are used to follow the condition of the tumor. Survival depends on whether it has already spread when diagnosed.
Five-Year Survival 60 percent when the tumor can be completely removed, but this drops dramatically if there is residual tumor after surgery or if the tumor has spread throughout the nervous system.
Meningioma
Most meningiomas are benign tumors in the covering of the brain. Some have malignant features and behave aggressively. They produce symptoms by compression of the surrounding brain and by the swelling that they incite.
Standard Treatment Many meningiomas can be cured by surgical removal alone. Radiation can be an effective treatment for incompletely removed tumors and malignant or recurrent forms, but repeated surgical resections are sometimes required. Meningiomas that grow along the skull base are very difficult to remove and often require a combination of surgery and radiation to control the tumor.
