title: Survival of children with medulloblastoma in Canada diagnosed between 1990 and 2009 inclusive.
abstract: The treatment of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children, has evolved over the last few decades. The objectives of this paper were to determine the survival of pediatric medulloblastoma in Canada, to determine if there has been an improvement in the survival rates between the years of 1990 and 2009, inclusive, and to determine prognostic factors for survival. All patients under the age of 18 years diagnosed with medulloblastoma from 1990 to 2009, inclusive, in Canada were included. Data collected included date of diagnosis, age at diagnosis, gender, stage, pathology, treatment, recurrence and current status. From these, survival rates were determined. Data were obtained on 628 eligible patients. The overall 5-year survival rate for the study time period was 69.2 ± 3.3 %. The survival rate increased during the interval of 1996-2000, then remained stable; 1990-1994: 60.2 ± 4.3 %; 1995-1999: 73.2 ± 3.5 %; 2000-2004: 68.8 ± 3.7 %; and 2005-2009: 72.1 ± 4.9 %, p = 0.05. Children over 14 years of age had a significantly better overall survival than those age 5-14 and those under 5 (85.7 ± 5.5 % vs 76.1 ± 2.7 % and 60.8 ± 3 % respectively, p = 0.001). Histologic medulloblastoma subtype and M stage of disease did not result in significant differences in survival. Despite changes in approaches to therapy, we demonstrate a steady survival rate for children with medulloblastoma after 1996. In our analyses, age over 14 years was associated with a higher survival rate.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada. djohnston@cheo.on.ca.
authors.forename: Donna L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Neurology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Keene
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kostova
authors.affiliation: Section of Pediatric Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lafay-Cousin
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, British Columbia Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fryer
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, McMaster Children's Hospital, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Scheinemann
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, St Justine Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne-Sophie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Carret
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatrics, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Percy
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, IWK Children's Hospital, Halifax, NS, Canada.
authors.forename: Samina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Afzal
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Stollery Children's Hospital, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Beverly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Janeway Children's Hospital, St John's, NL, Canada.
authors.forename: Lynette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bowes
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Shayna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zelcer
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Saskatoon Children's Hospital, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mpofu
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Quebec, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Larouche
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Josee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brossard
authors.affiliation: Section of Pediatric Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strother
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouffet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
keywords: Medulloblastoma; Pediatric; Survival