Treatment of Meduloblastoma: its impacts and prospects of new therapies

Abstract

Childhood cancer is the second leading cause of death in children aged 5 to 14 years. It is characterized by
the proliferation of abnormal cells, and can develop in any tissue in the body. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(26%), central nervous system tumors (21%), neuroblastoma (7%) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (6%)
stand out in this age group. Medulloblastoma (MB) is a solid tumor of the central nervous system (CNS)
most common in children, it occurs more frequently in the region of the posterior fossa, where the cerebellum
and brainstem are located. It metastasizes in 30-40% of initial diagnoses, due to high dissemination in the
cerebrospinal fluid. The aim of this study was to gather information about the general aspects of MB and the
treatments associated with longer patient survival. For this, we used the methodology of narrative literature
review. Due to technological advances, currently about 80% of patients can be cured, however the increase
in survival shows the persistence of limiting side effects in the lives of these patients. There is a lack of
knowledge about risk factors and prevalence such as medulloblastoma in children, knowing only that the
latency period in the pediatric population is shorter and the tumor evolution. It is significantly faster than in
mature individuals. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be used not only for initial diagnosis, but also to observe
treatment responses and relapse, tracking biomarker levels after surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
New perspectives emerge from ongoing studies with different therapies: monoclonal antibodies, oncolytic
viruses, Natural Killer cells and CAR-T cells, which promise to be more specific in their actions, with a
lower profile of toxic effects and better quality of life for MB patients.