Clinical profile, treatment and outcome of pediatric brain tumors in Serbia in a 10-year period: A national referral institution experience

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of children with primary brain tumors, the effectiveness of treatment modalities, and to detect factors related to the outcome.MethodsA detailed analysis was performed on a series of 173 pediatric patients treated in a Serbian referral oncology institution between 2007 and 2016, based on their clinical, histological, treatment, and follow-up data.ResultsMean survival time of all children was 94.5months. 2-, 5- and 10-year overall survival probabilities were 68.8%, 59.4%, and 52.8%, respectively. Patients with supratentorial tumors had longer survival than patients with infratentorial tumors and patients with tumors in both compartments (p = 0.011). Children with the unknown histopathology (brainstem glioma) and high-grade glioma had a shorter life than embryonal tumors, ependymoma, and low-grade glioma (pConclusionsWith an organized and dedicated multidisciplinary team, the adequate outcomes can be achieved in a middle-income country setting. The presence of local residual disease after surgery and disseminated disease has a strong negative effect on survival.