Epidemiological distribution of primary central nervous system tumors in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia: a local registry from neuroscience-affiliated centers

OBJECTIVES: Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are a major and growing global healthcare challenge. Western Saudi Arabia has an inconsistent data registry; therefore, the epidemiology of CNS tumors is unclear across the country. This study is aimed to assemble the epidemiological matrix of CNS tumors in the Western Province of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using clinical data obtained from 3 neuroscience centers in Western Saudi Arabia in the period 2014-2019. The sample size included 663 adult and pediatric cases from the local and expatriate populations diagnosed with CNS tumors. The distributions of age, sex, clinical presentation, tumor location, type of surgery, histological subtype, genetic characteristics, and recurrence rate were explored. RESULTS: The analysis included 500 adult cases and 163 pediatric cases up to 18 years of age with a male-to-female ratio of 1.16. The mean age at diagnosis was 38.0±22.6 years. The supratentorium was the most common location (n=515, 77.7%). Most patients presented with headache (n=298, 44.9%), followed by a focal neurological deficit (19.9%). The most common primary CNS tumor was glioblastoma (n=234, 35.3%), followed by meningioma (n=100, 15.1%). The recurrence rate after surgery was estimated to be 40.9% among all CNS tumors. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first tumor registry of Western Province of Saudi Arabia that describes the distribution of primary CNS tumors and highlights their epidemiological matrix. Several incidence trends in terms of histological type, age group, sex, location, and recurrence were determined, and some genetic characteristics were recognized.