ABSTRACT
Objective: To describe the epidemiologic features of malignant central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms in Jamaican children.
Method: All cases of primary CNS malignancies registered in children between the ages of 0 and 14 years, for the period 1978–2007, were extracted from the records of the Jamaica Cancer Registry. Tumours were classified using the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (Third edition), and stratified into four age groups as per World Health Organization recommendations for recording childhood cancers.
Results: There were 58 cases recorded between 1978 and 2007. Twenty four (41%) were males and 34 (59%) were females with a male: female ratio of 1:1.4. The most commonly affected age group was the 5 – 9 year group (41%), with the infratentorial compartment being the most frequent location (55%). Fourteen (24%) had no pathological diagnosis. Of those that had pathological diagnoses the two most common tumour types were astrocytoma NOS (29.31%) and medulloblastoma (24.14%). Astrocytoma NOS was more common in males (M:F; 1.4:1) and medulloblastoma was more common in females (M:F;1:2.5).
Conclusion: In contrast to other reports, malignant CNS tumours in Jamaican children show an overall female preponderance and medulloblastomas are more common in girls. Epidemiologic characteristics were otherwise similar to those reported from other countries.
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