Neurology India Medknow Publications on behalf of the Neurological Society of India ISSN: 0028-3886 EISSN: 1998-4022 Vol. 59, Num. 2, 2011, pp. 156-156

Neurology India, Vol. 59, No. 2, March-April, 2011, pp. 156

Editorial

Spectrum of pediatric brain tumors in India

Aaron Mohanty

Division of Neurosurgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA

Correspondence Address: Aaron Mohanty, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Boulevard, JSA 9.208, Galveston, TX 77555-0517, USA, aarmohanty@yahoo.com

Date of Submission: 14-Jan-2011
Date of Decision: 14-Jan-2011
Date of Acceptance: 14-Jan-2011

Code Number: ni11049

PMID: 21483108

DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.79124

The article by Jain et al.^[1] describes the histological spectrum of pediatric brain tumors in a multi-institutional study incorporating several tertiary hospitals located in various geographical regions across India. Although there have been several reports regarding the incidence and prevalence of pediatric brain tumors in the western and far eastern literature, such studies have been distinctly lacking in the Indian subcontinent. This study is certainly the first of its kind on the subject, and the authors should be commended for their efforts in this regard.

As the authors mention, astrocytomas were the most common tumors among all the centers followed by the primitive neuroectodermal tumors. Surprisingly, craniopharyngioma was the third most common among the tumors and as the authors have emphasized the incidence appears to be more frequent than in the western literature. This may be related to the referral pattern of children presenting with these tumors. The location and associated postoperative complications often encourage neurosurgeons in community hospitals in developing countries with limited healthcare resources to refer these patients to a tertiary center. The lower incidence of germ cell tumors in the Indian subcontinent as compared to the oriental population is in accordance with comparable data among the adult population.

The limitations of this study certainly lie in its selective retrospective hospital-based data and the varying duration during which the data were collected from the participating institutions. Advancement in diagnostics, rapidly improving healthcare facilities, and greater awareness has led to earlier diagnosis of brain tumors in the rural and semi-urban population. Hence, the data in this study may be somewhat skewed than a true population-based study.

Despite these drawbacks, this study can be certainly considered as the first step in arriving at an organized effort in having a long needed database of pediatric brain tumor registry in the Indian subcontinent. Once again, it is noteworthy to congratulate the authors for their efforts in presenting this much-awaited study.

References

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