Can medulloblastoma be cured?

Medulloblastoma is a common childhood brain tumor, but it can also occur in adults. Medulloblastoma is a highly malignant brain tumor, and in advanced stages, tumor dissemination in the central nervous system and even metastases outside the central nervous system can occur. However, there are various types of medulloblastoma. Currently, medulloblastoma is divided into four subtypes: WNT, SHH, Group3 and Group4. The treatment effect of different molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma is different, some are prone to recurrence and metastasis, while others can be cured. Among the four molecular subtypes of medulloblastoma, the WNT type has the best outcome and is the most sensitive to radiotherapy and therefore the most likely to achieve a long-term cure, but unfortunately the percentage of this type in medulloblastoma is very low. Group 3, on the other hand, is relatively the least effective and the most metastatic subtype, and there is almost no effective treatment for medulloblastoma with extensive metastases. In addition to the subtype of medulloblastoma itself, proper treatment is also the key to achieving a cure. The treatment of medulloblastoma is divided into a sequential treatment of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The more thoroughly the tumor is removed through microsurgery, the better the outcome of subsequent adjuvant radiotherapy. With current microsurgical techniques, most medulloblastomas can be completely resected under the microscope, but a small number of medulloblastomas may not be completely resected because they invade the brainstem. Although medulloblastoma is a highly malignant brain tumor, with modern microsurgical techniques and advances in radiotherapy, many patients with medulloblastoma are able to achieve long-term cures. Patients with suspected medulloblastoma should not give up easily. With aggressive surgical treatment, medulloblastoma can be removed and its molecular subtype clearly defined, and with subsequent adjuvant radiotherapy, a significant proportion of patients can achieve clinical cure.