Adult medulloblastoma is a rare disease accounting for only 1% of adult primary central nervous system neoplasms. Dramatic advances have been made in the understanding of the biology of medulloblastoma over the last decade, but clinical treatment advances have been modest. Age-adjusted survival rates tend to be better in children than adults, and over half of adults with medulloblastoma present with high-risk disease. The cornerstone of therapy for standard-risk adults remains resection to the fullest extent possible followed by craniospinal radiation. The addition of chemotherapy for high-risk adults is widely recommended by inference from the pediatric experience. Although the treatment data in adults are limited, the potential for cure in the young adult patient population contributes to a justifiable bias towards more aggressive therapy.
