INNV-21. AN OVERVIEW OF NIGERIAN NEURO-ONCOLOGY SCHOLARLY OUTPUT

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and home to the continent’s largest economy. In this lower middle income county there is a shortage of optimal neurological/neurosurgical oncology care for a population of 184 million. A systematic review of the literature was performed using Google Scholar, PubMed, and African Journals Online, searching for articles related to neuro-oncology in Nigeria. The following search terms were used: Neuro-oncology, neurooncology, brain tumor, glioma, meningioma, central nervous system tumor, management, practice and Nigeria. Manuscripts were reviewed for relevance and categorized. 63 relevant articles were identified comprising original research in basic science (N= 1), clinical science (N = 59), and reviews (n=3).Retrospective case series were the most common types of publications from amongst these categories. Categorizing according to histology articles focused on meningioma (N=12), pituitary tumors (N=10), glioma (N=7), CNS metastases (N=6), multiple histologic types (N=25) and other types of tumors (N=3). Only 8 pediatric neuro-oncology publications were noted amongst these. Two manuscripts specifically addressed issues on neuro-oncology clinical practice in Nigeria. Twenty-six were published in Nigeria journals, 9 in US journals, and twenty-eight published in other countries. An increase in number of publications over time peaking in 2015 (14 manuscripts) was noted. The most frequent affiliation of authors was University of Ibadan (26), University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu (8), and Memfys Hospital for Neurosurgery (6). Two manuscripts were co-authored with American-based authors. There is a small but growing scholarly literature in neuro-oncology from Nigeria. However, there continues to be room for growth in neuro-oncology research output. With its large population of patients much can be learned. While there are logistical impediments to both patient care and research in neuro-oncology in Nigeria, there is promise for favorable advancements.