Brain tumors in children: about 136 cases

Brain tumors are the most diagnosed solid tumors in children under the age of 15 years worldwide. However, the epidemiological and anatomopathological profile of these tumors has been poorly described in African and, particularly, in Moroccan literature. This study highlights the epidemiological and anatomopathological peculiarities of primary brain tumors in children living in the region of Marrakech (south Morocco). We conducted a retrospective study in the Division of Anatomic Pathology at the Mohammed VI University Hospital, Marrakech from 2004 to 2016. One hundred and thirty-six patients were diagnosed with primary brain tumor, a mean of 11.33 cases per year. The average age of patients was 8.28 years. Sex-ratio (M/F) was 1.6 with a slight male predominance. Infratentorial tumors were found in 61,53% of cases while supratentorial tumors were found in 38.47% of cases. Infratentorial tumors mainly occurred in the cerebellar hemisphere (61.4%). Eighteen histological types were diagnosed. Astrocytoma and medulloblastoma accounted for 46,32% (29.41% and 16.91%, respectively). In our context, the majority of brain tumors in children was predominant in both age groups: 5-9 years and 10-15 years. The epidemiological data of these tumors from south Morocco are mostly consistent with those already published in North Country's literature and in other non-african countries' literature.