HIGH-DOSE CHEMOTHERAPY WITH STEM-CELL TRANSPLANTATION IN A METASTATICMEDULLOBLASTOMA IN AN ADULT - A CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Medulloblastoma is a rare tumor in adult. High doses of megavoltage ir radiation of the posterior fossa have been resulted in a better surviv al (48 to 78% at 5 years) of the patient. It is sensitive to a wide va riety of chemotherapy drugs, but adjuvant chemotherapy has not been pr oved effective in adults although data are limited. We report the case of a cerebellar medulloblastoma with bony and medullar metastases. Hi gh-dose chemotherapy with peripheral stem-cell transplantation was per formed while the patient was in remission following conventional chemo therapy. Complete remission lasted for 8 months. This therapeutic appr oach of metastatic medulloblastoma might be of value as this tumor is chemosensitive and not cured by conventional treatment. Internal radio therapy by Samarium-153 was also carried out and proved to be an effec tive palliative treatment of pain.