Abstract
Cerebellar tumors can occur in the cerebellar parenchyma, mainly in the hemispheres, and in the fourth ventricle. It is the predominant location of brain tumors in children, but less common in adults. Typical signs and symptoms arise from raised intracranial pressure due to hydrocephalus, functional disruption of the cerebellum, and involvement of the brainstem. Conventional contrast-enhanced MRI is the gold standard of initial imaging. Tumor entities vary according to age: in children medulloblastoma, pilocytic astrocytoma and ependymoma are the most common tumors, whereas in adults, metastasis and hemangioblastoma are often found. Treatment is adjusted to the individual risk profile and modalities comprise neurosurgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The treatment-associated morbidity especially of neurosurgical approaches depends on tumor location: large midline tumors involving the fourth ventricle are associated with a higher rate of postoperative cerebellar mutism syndrome, one of the most severe neurological sequelae of cerebellar tumors.
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Beez, T. (2023). Cerebellar Tumors. In: Gruol, D.L., Koibuchi, N., Manto, M., Molinari, M., Schmahmann, J.D., Shen, Y. (eds) Essentials of Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15070-8_99
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