Abstract

Cell kinetics and clinical behavior were correlated for 22 primary and 10 recurrent or metastatic medulloblastomas from 30 patients.Twenty-six patients received bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) intravenously during craniotomy; excised specimens were stained by the immunoperoxidase method. The BUdR labeling index (LI) was calculated. Four patients received a pulse of tritiated thymidine; LI was calculated autoradiographically.The mean LI for 32 tumors (11.7 +/- 1.3% standard error) indicated high proliferative potential. LI appeared higher in tumors from younger patients and those in the cerebellar hemisphere as compared with those in the cerebellar vermis. LI did not correlate with survival time. In six BUdR-labeled tumors labeled with iododeoxyuridine, the S-phase duration was 6.1-11.3 hours (mean, 8.0 +/- 0.8 hours); the potential doubling time was 25-82 hours. The actual doubling time, estimated in three cases from serial imaging, was 20-24 days. A cell loss factor of approximately 0.90 was assumed.A high LI may reflect rapid medulloblastoma growth, but survival seemed more dependent on sensitivity to radiation therapy.

View details for Web of Science ID A1992JF19600019

View details for PubMedID 1623482