Surveillance Scanning of Children with Medulloblastoma

Surveillance studies to detect residual, recurrent, and metastatic cancer are a standard part of clinical trials and are considered good medical practice. Such studies enable physicians to assess the response of the tumor to treatment, determine the time and location of a recurrence of disease, and monitor complications of treatment. However, surveillance techniques may come into wide use before their sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value have been established. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are routinely used to diagnose brain tumors and to follow patients with such tumors during and after treatment. The primary purposes of this approach . . .