Abstract

Background: Cancers of the central nervous system (CNS) are considered to be among the most notorious of all cancers. The brain and spinal cord are complex & delicate organs that control the higher functions, the peripheral nervous system, and many of the voluntary and involuntary systems of the body. It has been found that about 1/3 of all cancers metastasize to the brain. Low-grade tumors have been found over time to progress to high grade tumors.

Aims & Objectives: The objective of this article is to provide a current overview of the descriptive epidemiology of central nervous system tumors in our hospital set up. Our target was to study incidence of various lesion in light of WHO classification (2007) & study relevant statistics.

Materials and Methods: A total of 65 cases of CNS tumors were retrieved from the archives of the Department of Pathology, M.G.M. Medical College, Indore from May 2009 to May 2014. The diagnoses in all the cases were made on hematoxylin & eosin stained slides of processed tissue.

Results: In our study, meningioma was the most common lesion followed by astrocytoma. Out of total 65 cases, we came across 27 cases of meningioma and Astrocytoma was in 16 cases. 5 cases of ependymomas were seen.

Conclusion: Males are at much higher risk of developing CNS lesion in comparison to females. WHO Grade I lesions were more common in our institutional set up. Astrocytic WHO Grade III lesion was more common in comparison to Grade I lesion indicating need for imaging & neurology consultation at grass root level.

Key words: CNS Lesions; Histology; WHO; Statistics; Meningioma; Astrocytoma