Purpose: Primary pediatric tumors are the most common solid tumors in children. There are limited reports on the management and outcome of these tumors in the developing countries. In recent years, advances have been done in the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of these tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the histopathology, characteristics, and outcome of primary pediatric tumors in Iran.
Methods: This retrospective study examines primary brain tumors in children below 14 years of age who have undergone surgery. Histopathological characteristics according to WHO 2017 classification, age, sex, tumor resection rate, and patient outcome were extracted and studied. The results of the study were compared with the results of similar reports from neighboring countries and other parts of the world.
Results: In this study, 199 primary pediatric tumors were examined. Out of 199 cases, 114 cases were males, and 85 cases were females, and the male/female ratio was 1.34. The most common tumor group in this study was astrocytic tumors (68.3%) and the most common tumor was pilocytic astrocytoma (22.1%). In terms of malignancy, 50.7% of tumors were benign, and 49.3% were malignant. Total resection was done in 46% and subtotal resection in 35%. The mortality rate was found 19.2%. َAmong the remaining cases during follow-up, 76.6% had a good outcome without neurological deficits or mild disability and 23.4% had moderate to severe disability.
Conclusions: The results of the study in terms of pathology and demographic characteristics were mainly similar to other reports. The mean age of patients was lower, and the patients' outcome was better than the other countries in the region.
Keywords: Cancer; Epidemiology; Outcome; Pediatric tumors; Surgery.
© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.