Perfil epidemiológico de pacientes com tumores primários e secundários do sistema nervoso central

Abstract

Introduction: Primary and secondary tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) have a significant annual incidence in the world population, and their symptomatic repercussions are extremely concerning. Objectives: To describe the epidemiological profile of patients with primary and secondary CNS tumors in a tertiary hospital in the interior of Santa Catarina (SC), Brazil. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at a tertiary hospital in a city in the interior of Santa Catarina. Data were collected from medical records based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) defining the outcome of interest, selecting patients seen from November 2018 to November 2023. This population was characterized by stratifying race, age, and gender, typifying the most prevalent symptoms in this sample, the treatments performed, pathological results, and the prognosis of these patients. Absolute, relative frequency and prevalence statistical analyses were performed using PSPP software (free distribution), and the relationship between length of stay and outcomes (discharge, death, or transfer) was evaluated using the chi-square test, adopting a type 1 error of 5%. Results: The studied population was predominantly male (52.1%), white race/ethnicity (75.9%), aged over 40 years (85.8%), non-smokers (82.9%), non-alcoholics (99.1%), and employed (59%). Comorbidities were observed in 41.9% of patients, with systemic arterial hypertension, previous neoplasia, and diabetes mellitus being the most frequent. The most observed symptoms were headache (63.2%) and hemiparesis (45.3%). Among the complications, hemiparesis (16.2%), seizures (5.1%), and coma and brain death (4.3%) were the most common. The most prevalent location of the tumors studied was the brain and brainstem (81.2%), followed by the cerebellum (7.7%) and the pituitary gland (6.0%). The clinical-surgical discharge percentage was 70.1%, while the most common histological type observed in the sample was glioblastoma (23.1%), followed by meningioma (10.3%), astrocytomas (6.0%), and schwannoma (4.3%). Breast (29.0%) and lung (25.9%) were the most frequent primary sites in patients with metastatic CNS tumors. There was a significant relationship between length of stay longer than 15 days and death (p=0.015). Conclusion: This study found that the profile of patients with primary and secondary CNS tumors is predominantly male, in their fifth decade of life, white-skinned, attended by the Unified Health System, and retired, presenting with headaches, with neoplastic involvement in the brain and brainstem, with a higher frequency of death when hospitalized for more than 15 days, suggesting that this population should be considered regarding the occurrence of CNS tumors.