Abstract
Thirteen children, aged 6 months to 14 years, underwent surgery for medulloblastoma at Chiba University Hospital from 1971 to 1985. The nine patients treated prior to 1980 received postoperative irradiation therapy with or without chemotherapy. Since 1980, four patients have been treated postoperatively with interferon (IFN) plus radiation therapy. The IFN was administered intramuscularly once or twice a week throughout the period of radiation therapy.
Six of the nine patients not treated with IFN died within 1 year. In this group, the 3 and 5-year survival rates were 33% and 22%, respectively. One of the four patients treated with IFN died within 10 months of surgery, and another is disabled. The remaining two patients are in good condition. The 3and 5-year survival rates in the IFN group were both 75% as of the last follow-up in January of 1986.
