children s health issues
Medulloblastomas
Diagnosis of Medulloblastomas
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Biopsy or often surgery to remove the entire tumor Spinal tap To make the diagnosis of medulloblastoma, doctors do an Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with a To determine whether the tumor has spread, doctors do MRI of the spine and a spinal tap (lumbar puncture—see figure). The spinal tap is done to obtain cerebrospinal fluid for examination under a microscope to look for cancer cells. After surgery is done, doctors do another MRI to see whether the tumor has been completely removed. The results of these tests help doctors determine whether the tumor is average risk or high risk. Risk is average if All or almost all of the tumor can be removed during surgery. The tumorhas notspread to other parts of the brain, the spinal fluid, or elsewhere in the body. Risk is high if A large amount of tumor cannot be removed during the surgery. The tumorhasspread to other parts of the brain, the spinal cord, or elsewhere in the body. In recent years, genetic testing results have been shown to have an impact on outcome and risk. 