Histology of Primary Brain Tumors

Pathological classification of brain tumors is the corner stone upon which the management plan and treatment strategy depends. It is the pathologist who defines the “target” at which the rest of the clinical team members aim their “weapons”. Despite of the great advancement of the ancillary studies, the simple H&E stained slide remains an invaluable mean in the diagnosis, classification and stratification of primary brain tumors. Slides should be interpret‐ ed in correlation with patient’s age and clinical presentation. Radiological findings substitute the macroscopic/gross description in other organs and assessment of the location (supraten‐ torial, infratentorial, intra-ventricular), growth pattern (circumscribed versus infiltrative, solid versus cystic), enhancement pattern (non-enhancing versus enhancing), and the presence or absence of edema, necrosis, calcification should all be consolidated with the microscopic findings in formulating the final diagnosis. The need for an expert neuropathologist is becoming crucial in reviewing the cases before commencing on treatment [1-3]. The impor‐ tance of multidisciplinary clinics/teams cannot be overemphasized and neuropathologist plays a central role in these clinics [4, 5]. In less developed countries, telemedicine and twinning programs as well as affiliation with recognized international experts may offer an accessible and relatively affordable tool which can help narrowing the knowledge and practice gaps, thus providing patients in these countries with better standards of care [6, 7].