Purpose: To compare quality of survival after craniospinal irradiation (CSI) alone with survival after CSI plus chemotherapy (CT) for medulloblastoma.
Patients and methods: Follow-up study of surviving UK patients with medulloblastoma diagnosed between 1992 and 2000 treated according to one or other treatment arm of the PNET 3 controlled trial.
Results: Seventy three percent of all 147 eligible patients ages 6.6 to 24.3 years were assessed at a mean of 7.2 years after diagnosis. Health status was significantly poorer in the group treated in the CSI plus CT arm of the trial than in the CSI alone arm, and there were also trends to poorer outcomes for behavior and quality of life scores. The CSI plus CT group were also significantly more restricted physically and needed more therapeutic and educational support. Body mass index, stature, and other endocrine outcomes were similar in the two treatment arms, except for the trend in increased frequency of medical induction of puberty in the CSI plus CT group.
Conclusion: The addition of CT to CSI for medulloblastoma was associated with a significant decrease in health status. The effect of the addition of other CT regimens to CSI on quality of survival should be evaluated.