Velayutham Sumathi1, K. Balakrishnan2, M. Sai Sridevi Krishna3, K. Uma Maheswari4
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Central nervous system is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. Cells within the CNS normally grow in an orderly and controlled way. If for some reason this order is disrupted the cells continue to divide and form a lump of tumour. Primary CNS tumours continue to be among the top ten causes of cancer related deaths in the world despite comparatively low incidence to other tumours. The objective of the study was to evaluate the incidence, histopathological features, grading according to WHO guidelines and immunohistochemistry analysis of difficult cases with glial differentiation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The retrospective study comprised of 83 cases of CNS neoplasms retrieved from the histopathology section. The study ranged from 5-70 years, mean age being 16 years. Clinical data was collected in most of the cases regarding the site of the tumour, presenting symptoms and radiological findings.
RESULTS
The study ranged from 5-70 years. Maximum number of cases were seen in the age group of 31-40 years. Overall, females (56%) showed a slight preponderance compared to males (44%). Paediatric neoplasms comprised 13.2 % of all cases in our institution. Commonest type of tumours were intracranial tumours (49.3%) and spinal tumours (8.4%).
CONCLUSION
Incidence of CNS neoplasms is rare in general population. The incidence of CNS neoplasms in our institution was 9.97% slightly higher compared to other studies. Females showed a slight predominance. Commonest intracranial neoplasm in adults was astrocytoma whereas it was medulloblastoma in the paediatric population. WHO grading revealed Grade II pattern as the most frequent one histopathologically. Immunohistochemistry plays a major role in diagnosis of CNS neoplasms.
