Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill tumor cells. Standard radiation therapy can be used, but proton beam therapy - available at a limited number of major health care centers in the United States - delivers higher targeted doses of radiation to brain tumors, minimizing radiation exposure to nearby healthy tissue. A pediatric or adult radiation oncologist administers radiation therapy to the brain and spinal cord using high-energy beams, such as X-rays or protons, to kill cancer cells. All patients with medulloblastoma should receive additional treatments after surgery to target any remaining cells. But sometimes it's not possible to remove the tumor entirely because medulloblastoma forms near critical structures deep within the brain. A pediatric or adult brain surgeon (neurosurgeon) removes the tumor, taking care not to harm nearby tissue.
Signs and symptoms of medulloblastoma may include headaches, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, dizziness, double vision, poor coordination, unsteady walk and other concerns. Though medulloblastoma is not inherited, syndromes such as Gorlin's syndrome or Turcot's syndrome might increase the risk of medulloblastoma. Based on different types of gene mutations, there are at least four subtypes of medulloblastoma.
Medulloblastoma is a type of embryonal tumor - a tumor that starts in the fetal (embryonic) cells in the brain.