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PURPOSE Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors pose a substantial health problem. Although data on specific time periods and regions of Africa has been previously reported, no study has yet to provide a systemic review on the frequency of CNS tumors for the entire continent of Africa. This study aims to analyze the frequency of CNS tumors in Africa from 1960 to 2017. METHODS A comprehensive literature search on CNS tumors in Africa was performed using multiple online scientific databases. The following keywords were queried in combination with the phrase “CNS tumors in Africa”: incidence, frequency, epidemiology, prevalence, brain, and cancer. A total of 26 articles met the inclusion criteria. Each selected article reported incidence and mortality rates from different regions of Africa between 1960 to 2017. SPSS21 statistical software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS Nigeria, Egypt, and Uganda were found to have the highest incidence of CNS tumors in Africa. Total incidence was 5902, the majority were males, 3190 with mean rate 122.67 (95% CI: 29.27, 216.07) compared to females, 2501 with a mean rate of 96.19 (95% CI: 26.24, 166.15). The most common CNS tumors found were astrocytoma (24.70%), meningioma (22.22%), pituitary adenoma (8.4%), medulloblastoma (4.26%), craniopharyngioma (4.07%), and other not specified (25.17%). CONCLUSION Given the large population of Africa, the reported total incidence may be underestimated when compared to other continents due to the lack of a central brain tumor registry in Africa. Comprehensive knowledge of CNS tumors in Africa is critical to research and the entire healthcare system.

Background Although rare, primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Texas is a representative sample of the United States population given its large population, ethnic disparities, geographic variations, and socio-economic differences. This study used Texas data to determine if variations in incidence trends and rates exist among different ethnicities in Texas. Methods Data from the Texas Cancer Registry from 1995 to 2013 were examined. Joinpoint Regression Program software was used to obtain the incidence trends and SEER*Stat software was used to produce average annual age-adjusted incidence rates for both nonmalignant and malignant tumors in Texas from 2009 to 2013. Results The incidence trend of malignant primary CNS tumors in whites was stable from 1995 to 2002, after which the annual percent change decreased by 0.99% through 2013 (95% CI, -1.4, -0.5; P = .04). Blacks and Asian/Pacific Islanders showed unchanged incidence trends from 1995 to 2013. Hispanics had an annual percent change of -0.83 (95% CI, -1.4, -0.2; P = .009) per year from 1995 through 2013. From 2009 to 2013, the incidence rates of nonmalignant and malignant primary CNS tumors were highest among blacks, followed by whites, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives. Conclusions Consistent with the 2016 Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States report, the black population in Texas showed the highest total incidence of CNS tumors of any other race studied. Many factors have been proposed to account for the observed differences in incidence rate including geography, socioeconomic factors, and poverty factors, although the evidence for these external factors is lacking.