Meningiomas among intracranial neoplasms in Johannesburg, South Africa: prevalence, clinical observations and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND Worldwide there are varying reports on the prevalence of meningiomas among intracranial neoplasms. Different reports state intracranial meningiomas, gliomas or metastatic tumours as the most common tumour among intracranial neoplasms. We present our institutions' experience of patients with intracranial neoplasms and a comparison of our findings with those from the literature. OBJECTIVE To determine the relative frequency of intracranial meningiomas among intracranial neoplasms in our environment. METHODS Consecutive patients (151) seen at the CMJAH and CHBAH, Johannesburg, with histologically proven intracranial neoplasms over a 12 month period were analyzed. RESULTS The commonest histological types were meningiomas, gliomas and pituitary tumours. Forty eight (31.8%) patients had histologically confirmed intracranial meningiomas during the study period, 35 (23.2%) had pituitary adenomas and 32 (21.2%) had gliomas. The mean age of the patients was 43 years with a female-to-male ratio of 1.3:1. The peak age range at presentation was in the fifth (27.1%) and sixth (26.5%) decades. CONCLUSION The study showed that meningioma is the most common tumour among intracranial neoplasms in our environment.