Medulloblastoma With Extracranial Metastases

Abstract
Introduction Medulloblastoma cerebelli is a common brain tumor of the childhood years whose incidence in this age group is exceeded only by astrocytomas.1,2It is estimated that approximately 200 cases occur in the United States alone each year.3Because of the almost invariably fatal course of medulloblastoma many cases have been examined at necropsy; the poor encapsulation of the tumor, local invasiveness and primitive appearance of the cells invariably meet the histologic criteria for malignancy. Matastases within the central nervous system have been seen in one third to one half the cases where a careful search of brain, spinal cord, and nerve roots has been carried out.4-6Yet, only eight instances of medulloblastoma metastasizing outside the central nervous system have been reported in which the diagnosis has been established by complete postmortem examinations. The purpose of this communication is to report an additional autopsied case of medulloblastoma