[Medulloblastoma with multiple metastases beyond the nervous system].

A case of desmoplastic cerebellar medulloblastoma with numerous metastases beyond the nervous system is reported. Fourteen months after the operation the patient began complaining about pains in hip and knee joints and dysphagia. One week before death profuse bleeding from the digestive tract developed. On autopsy numerous metastases were found in the bones, lymph nodes, spleen, pancreas and kidneys. Histological examination demonstrated that the metastases were composed of the same cells as the primary cerebellar tumour, but reticulin fibres were scant in them. In none of the metastatic lesions any significant reticulin proliferation was present, these fibres were found only around small vessels.