PURPOSE

Global studies have shown varying trends of CNS tumors within geographic regions. In Colombia, the epidemiologic characteristics of CNS neoplasms are not well elucidated. We aimed to provide a summary of the descriptive epidemiology of primary CNS tumors among the urban population of Cali, Colombia.

METHODS

We conducted a time-trend study from 1962 to 2019 using the Population-Based Cali Cancer Registry. The age-standardized rates per 100,000 person-years were obtained by direct method using the world standard population. Results were stratified by sex, age group at diagnosis, and histologic subtype. We used Joinpoint regression analysis to detect trends and obtain annual percentage change (APC) with 95% CIs. We estimated 5-year net survival using the Pohar-Perme method.

RESULTS

During 1962 to 2016, 4,732 new cases of CNS tumors were reported. From 1985 to 2019, a total of 2,475 deaths from malignant CNS tumors were registered. A statistically significant increase in the trends of incidence (APC, 2.8; 95% CI, 2.1 to 3.5) and mortality (APC, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.0) rates was observed during the study. The most common malignant CNS tumor was glioblastoma (17.8% of all tumors), and the most frequent benign tumor was meningioma (17.2%). Malignancy was more common in males than in females. Unspecified malignant neoplasms represented 32% of all cases. The highest 5-year net survival was 31.4% during 2012 to 2016.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate an increasing burden of primary CNS tumors for the last 60 years, with a steady rate from the early 2010s. There was an improvement of 5-year net survival for the last decade. Males had higher mortality than did females. Additional efforts are needed to fully explore the geographic, environmental, and genetic contributors of CNS malignancies within the region.