Abstract
Abstract: Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre is a zonal referral hospital in Northern Tanzania with a catchment area of 15 million people. As its neurosurgery unit expands, an increasing number of CNS tumor patients are presenting for evaluation and management. We sought to analyze the histopathological variety of CNS tumors treated at our center since the neurosurgery unit’s inauguration in 2022. Using our theatre patient registries, we reviewed all surgically treated cranial and intraspinal tumors from January 2022 to December 2024, identifying histopathological diagnoses and barriers to obtaining pathology reports. A total of 134 brain and spine tumors were operated on during this period, with meningiomas being the most common CNS tumors treated (43.3% overall), increasing from 38.5% in 2022-2023 to 52.0% in 2024. Other diagnoses included astrocytomas (2.99%), medulloblastomas (3.73%), glioblastomas (4.48%), tuberculosis-related lesions (2.99%), and a range of other tumors and inflammatory processes (21.64%). Notably, 12.7% of patients lacked histopathology reports. Barriers to obtaining histopathology included financial constraints, a lack of centralized electronic records, limited histopathological testing, and reliance on external pathology services. These challenges highlight the need for improved access to histopathological diagnostics. Since 2022, our electronic medical record system has evolved to better centralize pathology reports, and we are actively collaborating with pathology colleagues to expand diagnostic services and improve patient care.