Histopathological Patterns of Intracranial Tumours at a Tertiary Health Facility in Sokoto, North-West Nigeria

Brain tumours are diverse group of primary CNS tumours and secondary neoplasm arising either from the scalp or from haematogenous spread from distant sites with few biologically aggressive tumours in both adult and paediatric age groups. Brain tumours have been classified based on their presumed cell of origin and degree of differentiation as determined by light microscopy and immunohistochemical studies with tumours distinctive tumour biology, treatment and prognosis. A retrospective study of all cases of intracranial tumours seen over a period of 10 years from January 2008 to December 2017 at Department of Pathology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital. This is a regional neurosurgical centre situated at Sokoto North-West Nigeria receiving surgical specimens from Birnin Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Katsina state. The age, sex, histologic diagnosis, and histologic grading system using the 2007 WHO grading system were retrieved and recorded. This study reviewed 151 patients managed with histology confirmed intracranial tumour (ICTs). Mean age was 28.17 ±17.26 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1.6:1.0. Peak age range was the third decade (21-30years) and accounted for (20.5%). Primary ICTs accounted for 95.4% of the cases and metastatic adenocarcinomas accounted for 4.6% of the diagnoses and all the cases were seen in adults. Meningioma was the most commonly diagnosed intracranial tumours (39.7%), followed by astrocytoma (23.2%), pituitary adenomas (7.3%), craniopharyngioma (11.9%) and nodular medulloblastoma accounted for 4.0%. The most common histologic subtype of meningioma was psammomatous accounted for 75.5%, followed by meningotheliomatous 18.5% and the least was transitional 1.3%. The mean age of meningioma was 32±11.9 years with age range from 3 – 58years and male to female ratio of 1.4:1 and WHO classification of meningioma are stratified into 3; 95% are in grade 1 and 5% are in grade 11. Meningioma was the most commonly diagnosed intracranial tumours (39.7%), followed by astrocytoma (23.2%), pituitary adenomas (7.3%), craniopharyngioma (11.9%) and nodular medulloblastoma accounted for 4.0%. The most common histologic subtype of meningioma was psammomatous accounted for 75.5%, followed by meningotheliomatous 18.5% and the least was transitional 1.3% with WHO classification of meningioma are stratified into 3; 95% are in grade 1 and 5% are in grade 11.