Treatment of medulloblastoma abroad

A cancerous node can grow asymptomatically for a long time. Diagnosis is often complicated by the early age of the patients, when at the age of 3-5 the child cannot clearly formulate the changes in well-being that bother him. In a third of cases, metastasis is observed already at the stage of diagnosis.

You can suspect the growth of medulloblastoma by the following symptoms:

• Headache, dizziness.
• Vomiting, nausea that worsens in the morning.
• A decrease in the level of activity, rapid fatigue.
• Clumsiness, imbalance.
• Change handwriting.
• Visual impairment.

The spread of the tumor to the spinal cord leads to the addition of back pain, problems with urination, work of the gastrointestinal tract, and walking.

Complex treatment of a brain tumor gives the greatest effect. At the first stage, surgical removal of the tumor node is carried out, at the second – radiotherapy or the appointment of chemotherapy drugs.

Surgical removal

Early detection of medulloblastoma, when it has the appearance of a demarcated node and does not grow into adjacent anatomical structures, allows to remove the tumor completely and significantly increases the chances of recovery. Partial removal of the tumor is also possible, but in this case a course of radiation or radiotherapy must be prescribed. The operation is performed under general anesthesia, involves trepanation of the skull and requires competent postoperative discharge of the person in the intensive care unit.

Radiation and chemotherapy

Medulloblastoma cells are sensitive to ionizing radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs. The exception is recurrent tumors that occur again in the home of already cured cancer. The age limit for prescribing radiation therapy is up to 3 years.

Targeted therapy

The method involves prescribing specific drugs that selectively inhibit metabolic processes in cancer cells and prevent their division. The selection of targeted drugs effective for this specific medulloblastoma is based on complex genetic tests. During the examination, mutations are searched for in 790 genes responsible for the transition of normal cells to tumor growth. 

The course of treatment is designed for several months or even years. Medicines are prescribed in the form of tablets, which greatly facilitates treatment.

Immunotherapy

It is a relatively new and technically complex method of treatment, which allows you to direct the power of the body’s own immune system to the fight against the tumor. To do this, a biopsy of the tumor node is performed, a tissue sample is obtained, and in laboratory conditions, a vaccine is obtained that “teaches” the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The vaccine is made individually and is effective only against the specific tumor of the patient. Supplementing the effect of the vaccine is the introduction of a virus into the human body that selectively affects tumor cells.

Our domestic doctors are ready to do anything to help the patient. But their possibilities are significantly limited due to the sharp shortage of modern chemotherapy drugs, the lack of necessary equipment and the possibility of implementing new treatment methods. Medulloblastoma is a potentially incurable tumor, provided that therapy is carried out according to the highest global standards. In the leading oncology clinical centers of Europe and the world, specialists achieve much better results, and cancer is not the kind of pathology in which the patient has a second chance for treatment.

For the treatment of medulloblastoma, Experts Medical recommends San Juan de Deu Children’s Hospital (Barcelona, Spain) first of all. Adequate medical care can be provided here to children and adolescents of any age. The German Center IOZK, located in Cologne, specializes in immunotherapy of malignant brain tumors. Neuropsychological clinic NP BRAIN HOSPITAL (Istanbul, Turkey) performs neurosurgical operations at a high technical level and provides its patients with spiritual service.