Incidence of childhood brain tumors in Syria (1993-2002).
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the incidence and location of childhood CNS tumors in Syria follows the same pattern described in Western and Far Eastern countries.


METHODS
We analyzed the data compiled from 367 children with brain tumors operated on in our Department of Neurosurgery between 1993 and mid-2002. We excluded all vascular and metastatic lesions and adopted the latest WHO classification in grouping all glial tumors.


RESULTS
We found that 47% of brain tumors were located in the supratentorial, and 53% in the infratentorial region. The ratio of male to female occurrence was 1:1.2 (52% males, 48% females). For lesions in the supratentorial space, the distribution was 56% males and 44% females, while in the posterior fossa, the distribution was 61% males and 39% females. Low-grade tumors (WHO I/II) constituted 53.5% of all lesions, and the rest were high grade tumors (WHO III/IV) 46.5%. The most common tumor found in our childhood population was medulloblastoma (27.5%), followed by astrocytoma (25.8%), then craniopharyngioma (14.1%). The most common tumor in the posterior fossa was medulloblastoma (53.5%), followed by astrocytoma (22.5%), then ependymoma (17%). The most common tumors in the supratentorial space were astrocytoma and craniopharyngioma.


CONCLUSIONS
In our patient population, the incidence and distribution of CNS tumors were somehow different than those reported by authors from the Western and Far Eastern countries. Whether these results are unique to Syria, or reflect a regional difference in the disease distribution between the Middle East region and the rest of the world, remains to be determined.
Kadri
Hassan
H
Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, Moassat University Hospital, Damascus, Syria. drkadri@hotmail.com
Mawla
Alhakam A
AA
Murad
Lina
L
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013593:Syria / Q000453:epidemiology