Are childhood and adult medulloblastomas different? A comparative study of clinicopathological features, proliferation index and apoptotic index.

Childhood medulloblastomas have been suspected to be biologically different from adult tumors, though comparative studies are sparse in the literature. The present study aims to establish any differences or nexus in the biological characteristics between childhood and adult medulloblastomas. A total of 181 medulloblastomas were studied with respect to clinical and histological characteristics, MIB-1 labeling index (MIB-1 LI), apoptotic index (AI), ratio of apoptotic to LI, p53 and Bcl-2 protein expressions.