ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2059

Clinical - Paediatric

ESTRO 2024

The study aimed to review the number, clinico-epidemiologic characteristics and radiotherapy treatment of pediatric patients presenting with brain tumors at an emerging cancer center of excellence in Nigeria. The study also aimed to compare the utilization of three-dimensional radiotherapy (3DCRT) to more advanced techniques such as intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric arc therapy (VMAT). The prevalence of treatment abandonment was also reviewed with the aim to provide a baseline for future review of utilization, survival and side effect outcomes.

Material/Methods:

A retrospective cross-sectional study design was employed. The medical records of patients aged 1–19 years with radiologically or histologically diagnosed brain tumours between June 2019 and June 2023 at the NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre were accessed and included in this study. The data regarding demographic and clinical presentation, radiotherapy techniques used and completion of treatment was extracted and analyzed.

Results:

Fifty-eight patients with a mean age of 9.12 years who had radiologically and histologically diagnosed brain tumor between 2019 and 2023 received a radiotherapy prescription and were included in this report. The most common diagnoses were diffuse midline gliomas (37.9%), ependymoma (13.8%) and medulloblastoma (13.8%) [Figure 1]. Of the 58 patients who received a radiation therapy prescription, 36 (62.1%) patients received radiation therapy. Of those who did not receive radiotherapy, the identified reasons were financial constraints (59.1%), distance from the centre (22.7%), clinical reasons (9.1%) and parent or caregiver’s choice (9.1%). Overall, the most common treatment technique used was volumetric arc therapy – VMAT (36.1%). When comparing the technique used by year, 3D-CRT was the most commonly used technique in 2019 (87.5%), versus VMAT/IMRT (100.0%) by 2022 [Figure 2].

Conclusion:

Our findings show that the utilization of advanced conformal radiotherapy techniques for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors is increasing in Nigeria. The limitations observed were the small sample size and single institution source. Further research would focus on monitoring survival outcomes and side effects profiles for pediatric brain tumor treatment in Nigeria, as well as assessing barriers to implementing more advanced conformal techniques and strategies to increase access to these techniques.