Epidemiology of non-glial tumors of the CNS according to the WHO 2016 classification: A report of 244 cases from a single surgical center

Introduction: Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors are a group of neoplasms with a high annual incidence as well as mortality. Although, anatomical similarities, they diverse in terms of etiology, morphology, location, molecular biology and clinical behavior. The CNS tumors consist of two broad groups, glial and non-glial. Non-glial tumors of the CNS constitute a group of lesions with broad histologically differences. They derive from different structures such as the pineal gland, meninges, germ cells, and hematopoietic cells, etc. A large number of new cases with CNS tumors are diagnosed annually, one third of which are non-glial tumors. The purpose of this study was to extend our information of the non-glial tumors epidemiology. Methods: It was a retrospective study of 244 paraffin embedded blocks of non-glial specimens recorded in Vali-Asr Hospital, Arak, Iran from 2006 to 2015 (with follow up at December 2016). We re-analyzed the incidence of them by tumor grades (according to the last WHO classification-2016), gender, age, size and location. Results: There were 117 grade I, 22 grade II, 3 grade III meningiomas, 3 hemangiopericytomas, 8 craniopharyngiomas, 18 schwannomas, 30 pituitary adenomas, 6 medulloblastomas, 26 metastatic tumors, 5 lymphomas, 3 haemangioblastomas, and 3 choroid plexus papillomas. The male:female ratio was 3:5 .Conclusion: The majority of cases was grade I meningiomas (117 cases). The mean age of patients was 49.83±19.02, and the most frequent location of tumors was parietal lobe followed by suprasellar region, frontal lobe, spinal cord, cp angle and temporal lobe. This non-glial CNS tumor registry study provides essential information that could develop tumor management and healthcare practice.

Keywords:

Central nervous system , Non-glial tumours , Epidemiology , Incidence , Pathology