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Published on: May 2, 2025
Primary pediatric brain tumors: statistics of Taipei VGH, Taiwan (1975-2004)
Tai-Tong Wong1, Donald M Ho, Kai-Ping Chang
1Department of Neurosurgery, Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, VACRS, and National Yang Ming University, School of Medicine, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Insights
This study analyzed 986 pediatric brain tumors in Taiwan, finding astrocytic tumors most common. The data provides insights into pediatric brain tumor epidemiology in the region.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Primary pediatric brain tumors represent a significant health concern in children.
- Understanding the epidemiology of these tumors is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a hospital series of 986 primary pediatric brain tumors in Taiwan.
- To analyze age, gender, location, and classification of these tumors.
Main Methods:
- Reviewed a database of pediatric brain tumors (<18 years) from Taipei Veterans General Hospital (1975-2004).
- Included intracranial tumors with diagnostic imaging; excluded non-tumoral lesions.
- Analyzed tumor location, classification, age, and gender distribution.
Main Results:
- The mean age was 7.8 years, with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1.
- Supratentorial tumors (58.3%) were more common than infratentorial tumors (41.1%).
- Most common tumors: astrocytic tumors (31.1%), germ cell tumors (14.0%), medulloblastomas (13.3%), craniopharyngiomas (8.3%), and ependymal tumors (5.8%).
Conclusions:
- This series represents a significant contribution to understanding primary pediatric brain tumors in Taiwan.
- Inclusion of both verified and unverified tumors aimed to reduce selective bias.
- Findings on germ cell tumors align with regional data, suggesting potential geographic correlations.
Background:
The purpose of the current study was to investigate a hospital series of 986 cases of primary pediatric brain tumors in Taiwan.
Methods:
The authors reviewed the database of primary pediatric brain tumors in patients < 18 years of age collected in Taipei Veterans General Hospital (Taipei VGH) from 1975 to May 2004. Age and gender distribution, location, and classification of brain tumors were analyzed. Intracranial tumors with diagnostic imaging were included. Nontumoral lesions, cysts, and vascular malformations were excluded.
Results:
The mean age of these 986 patients was 7.8 years, and the male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Supratentorial (including pineal-quadrigeminal) located tumors (58.3%) was predominant to infratentorial tumors (41.1%). In these series, 886 patients had either histologic diagnosis (842 patients) or clinical diagnosis (44 patients). The most common 5 categories of tumors were astrocytic tumors (31.1%), germ cell tumors (14.0%), medulloblastomas (13.3%), craniopharyngiomas (8.3%), and ependymal tumors (5.8%). Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs), a rare but highly malignant tumor, were 2.1%. The high incidence of primary intracranial germ cell tumors correlated with reported series from Japan and Korea. For the remaining 100 patients without diagnostic classifications, the majority were most likely astrocytic tumors in brain stem.
Conclusions:
The authors analyzed a large hospital series of primary brain tumors in children. Both histologically verified and unverified tumors were recruited to avoid selective bias. Although it was not a study of a population-based brain tumor registry, it could still be representative of primary pediatric brain tumors in Taiwan.
