Risk Factors

A risk factor is anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a tumor. Some risk factors that can be controlled, such as smoking, and some cannot be controlled, such as age and family history. Although risk factors can influence the development of a tumor, most do not directly cause a tumor. Some people with several risk factors never develop a tumor, while others with no known risk factors do.

Doctors don’t know what causes most childhood cancers, including medulloblastoma. Medulloblastoma occurs more often in boys than in girls and most often in the first eight years of life. Half of the tumors occur in children younger than six years old.