ArticleJournal of cancer & allied specialties2026
Outcomes of Medulloblastoma Treated with Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Craniospinal Irradiation: A Retrospective Study.
Article in Journal of cancer & allied specialties, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Cranio-spinal irradiation (CSI) is essential in treating central nervous system malignancies such as medulloblastoma, but conventional 3D-conformal radiotherapy poses challenges in dose uniformity and toxicity. Advanced techniques like Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) offer improved target coverage and organ sparing, yet data on its use in resource-limited settings remain scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical feasibility, dosimetric performance, toxicity profile, and early outcomes of CSI delivered via VMAT in medulloblastoma patients treated at a tertiary care center in Pakistan. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included 113 patients (median age 12 years, range 4-37) diagnosed with medulloblastoma and treated between 2018 and 2024. Patients underwent surgical resection followed by VMAT-based CSI, with doses ranging from 23.4 to 36 Gy and tumor boosts of 54-55.4 Gy. Dosimetric parameters including planning target volume (PTV) coverage, conformity index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), and organ-at-risk (OAR) doses were analyzed. Acute toxicities were graded, and disease-free survival (DFS) was assessed over a median follow-up of 15 months. Results: Gross total or near-total resection was achieved in 38.1% of patients. Mean PTV coverage was 94%, with median CI and HI values of 1.02 and 0.10, respectively, indicating excellent dose conformity and homogeneity. The majority of patients required multiple isocenters for complete cranio-spinal coverage. Acute toxicities were predominantly mild to moderate, with esophagitis (11%), bone marrow suppression (12%), and nausea/vomiting (10%) most commonly observed. Organ doses remained within acceptable limits. The two-year DFS rate was 76%. Conclusion: VMAT-based CSI is a feasible and effective treatment modality for medulloblastoma in a resource-constrained setting, providing superior dosimetric outcomes with manageable toxicity. These findings support the broader adoption of advanced radio-therapy techniques like VMAT in similar clinical environments.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.