Medulloblastoma: example of late adult onset with statistical correlation relative to etiology.

A case of histologically verified medulloblastoma occurring in an 88-year-old woman is described. A search of the literature indicates that with respect to age this case is unique. Further, 33 histologically verified cases of medulloblastoma reported in the literature are analyzed with respect to incidence and prognosis as a function of histological type, tumor location, age and sex. The statistical study has confirmed the relative relationships found by Chatty and Earle in their analysis of 105 cases in 1971 and has further indicated a tendency for male desmoplastic differentiation. A survey of an additional 216 cases in the literature reveals an improvement in average survival from 25 to 27 months since 1971, possibly reflecting refined therapeutic techniques. The changing survival expectany with surviving interval has been computed at 10 months per survival year.