Abstract :

Purpose: To understand the epidemiological characteristics and histopathologic patterns cranial-spinal tumours (CSTs) at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) in the lake zone region of Mwanza Tanzania

Methods: Patients who underwent biopsy (surgery for excision or incision of lesion) for different CSTs between January 2014 and June 2022 at BMC with valid histopathologic results were included in a retrospective database. Patients who had clinical and radiological diagnosis of central nervous system tumours without histopathological biopsy and patients who had primary biopsy not taken at our institution were excluded. Collected data included basic demographics, clinical presentation and histopathologic findings. Report on surgical outcomes and prognosis and mortality was not included due to lack of consistency in recordings and the retrospective nature on the study.

Results: A total of 123 cranial spinal tumors in 63 (52.1%) males and 59 (47.1%) female patients were recorded. Pediatric and adult patients accounted for 35.8% and 64.2% of the cases, respectively. The predominant age group affected was between 40 and 49 years (23.5%). The most common histopathological diagnosis in the present study was meningioma (26%), followed by astrocytic tumors (13.8%), metastatic tumors (8.1%), lymphomas (5.7%) and medulloblastomas (5.7%). The meningothelial meningioma was the most common type of meningioma (48.5%). Glioblastoma Multiforme accounted for 35% of the astrocytic tumors.

Conclusion: This retrospective study established a baseline profile of brain tumors based primarily on the histopathological experience at a tertiary care hospital in the lake zone region of Mwanza Tanzania and provides an initiating platform to workup for future population targeted studies on cranial spinal tumors.