Preirradiation chemotherapy including "eight drugs in 1 day" regimen and high-dose methotrexate in childhood medulloblastoma: results of the M7 French Cooperative Study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a protocol that includes "sandwich" chemotherapy, that is, chemotherapy alternated with radiotherapy, and reduced doses of supratentorial irradiation in children with medulloblastoma. Between March 1985 and September 1988, 70 successive children with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma from eight centers were treated in this prospective nonrandomized study. Patients were assigned to two risk groups.