Abu-Arja identifies key factors in the development of hearing loss in patients treated for medulloblastoma

Hearing loss is a common complication in children treated for medulloblastoma. Findings in Neuro-Oncology reveal that a patient’s age and the radiation dose to the cochlea (portion of the inner ear) are key factors in the development of hearing loss.

The research team analysed data from 79 patients treated for medulloblastoma with cisplatin combined with a radiotherapy known as passive scattering proton therapy.  

“This study helps us to identify who is at greatest risk and to devise new strategies for avoiding the profoundly harmful effects of treatment-related hearing loss,” says first author of the study, Dr. Mohammad Abu-Arja at Texas Children’s Hospital.  

The research team comprised investigators at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center, Baylor College of Medicine; the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; and The Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Read the original research article here.