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Gabriela Oigman

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BACKGROUND: Medulloblastoma (MB), the most malignant brain tumor of childhood has survival outcomes exceeding 80% for standard risk and 60% for high risk patients in high-income countries (HIC). These results have not been replicated in low-to-middle income countries (LMIC), where 80% of children with cancer live. METHODS: Retrospective review of 114 children (3-18 years) diagnosed with MB from 1997 to 2016 at INCA. Data on patients, disease characteristics and treatment information were retrieved from the charts and summarized descriptively. Overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier Method. RESULTS: The male/female ratio was 1.32 and the median age at diagnosis was 8.2 years. Headache (83%) and nausea/vomiting (78%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Overall survival (5y) was 59,1% and EFS (5y) was 58,4%. The OS for standard-risk patients was 69% and 53% for high-risk patients. Forty-five patients (35%) had metastatic disease at admission. Lower maternal education correlated with lower OS (71.3% versus 49% p=0.25). Patients who lived >40km from INCA fared better (OS= 68.2% versus 51.1% p=0.032). Almost 20% of families lived below the Brazilian minimum wage. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological characteristics of this series possibly explain the differences in survival that medulloblastoma patients have in Brazil. Issues related to limited health care resources, poverty, delayed diagnosis, treatment abandonment, and malnutrition are reflected in inferior survival outcomes when compared to high-income countries. Despite the difficulties encountered in an upper-middle income country, it was possible to deliver treatment with good results.