Statistical Report of Central Nervous System Tumors Histologically Diagnosed in the Sichuan Province of China from 2008 to 2013: A West China Glioma Center Report

Background Sichuan is a province in the west of China with a population of 81.4 million. This is the first statistical report of central nervous system (CNS) tumors surgically treated and histologically diagnosed in a large Chinese population. Methods All the patient data were obtained from 86 medical facilities, which covered the Sichuan province population. Data from patients who underwent surgery between 2008 and 2013 and corresponding histology samples were re-reviewed in the major pathology centers. All the CNS tumors were categorized according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 and ICD-O-3 classifications and reviewed manually. The tumor distribution was analyzed and stratified by gender, age, race, and tumor sites. Tumors in some ethnic minorities, such as the Tibetan people, also were analyzed. Results The final analytic dataset included 35,496 records. The top four histologic tumors were meningioma (28.51 %), pituitary adenoma (15.00 %), nerve sheath (13.77 %), and glioblastoma (11.82 %). There was a dramatically high incidence of malignant tumor in males. The median age at diagnosis ranged from 13 years (pineal region tumors) to 56 years (metastatic brain tumors). Most of the tumors in the insular lobe or cerebellum were low grade, whereas those in the thalamus or basal ganglia were likely to be high grade. The incidence of malignant tumors or high-grade gliomas in the Tibetans was significantly lower than in the Chinese Han population. Conclusion This report is a preliminary statistical analysis of brain and spinal tumors in a large Chinese population and may serve as a useful resource for clinicians, researchers, and patients’ families.