STUDY OF BRAIN TUMOR IN CHILDREN, AN IRANIAN EXPERIENCE

Objectives: To determine whether the incidence and location of childhood CNS tumors in our patients follows the same pattern described as in Western countries.

Methods: We analyzed the data compiled from 50 children with brain tumors less than 15 years old operated in Department of Neurosurgery in our hospital between 1994 and 2004. Diagnosis was made based on pathology and in some cases through imaging. Vascular and metastatic lesions were excluded and the latest WHO classification of brain tumor pathology was used.

Results: We found that 54% of brain tumors were located in the supratentorial and 46% in the infratentorial region. Brain tumor was slightly more common in males (males54% vs. females 46%). The most common tumor found in our patients was astrocytoma (43.9%), followed by meduloblastoma (26.8%), meningioma (14.6%), epandimoma (7.3%) craniopharyngioma (2.4%), epidermoid (2.4%) and then dermoid (2.4%). But in children between 5–10 years meduloblastoma was the most common. The most common symptom was headache and then vomiting in general however vomiting and then increased head circumference were most common in children under 5 years respectively. The incidence in different age groups were as follows: 56% in 10–15 years old,28% in 5–9 years and 16% in under 5 years old. Astrocytoma was more common in female and meduloblastoma in male relatively.

Conclusion: In our patients, the incidence and distribution of CNS tumors somewhat seem different with reports from Western countries. Whether there is any regional difference in disease distribution between Middle East and the rest of the world, remains to be determined.