Author(s)

Nassourou Oumarou Haman^1,2*, Ronaldo Fonju Anu², Orlane Ndome Toto^3,4, Bello Figuim^1,5, Indira Baboke², Marguerite Gwladys Nzedzou², Vincent de Paul Djientcheu^1,2

¹Department of Surgery and Specialties, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaounde 1, Yaounde, Cameroon.
²Department of Neurosurgery, Yaounde General Hospital, Yaounde, Cameroon.
³Department of Surgery and Specialties, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon.
⁴Department of Neurosurgery, Douala General Hospital, Douala, Cameroon.
⁵Department of Neurosurgery, Garoua General Hospital, Garoua, Cameroon.

Background: The incidence of intracranial metastases (ICMET) has been steadily rising, and its frequency with respect to primary brain tumours is relatively high. Objective: The objectives of this study were to elucidate the current epidemiology and describe the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic features of ICMET in Yaounde. Method and findings: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the neurosurgery departments of the General and Central Hospitals of Yaounde during the period from January 2016 to December 2022. We included all medical booklets of patients admitted for a tumoral intracranial expansive process with our target population being patients with histological evidence of ICMET, and did a retrospective inclusion of data using a pre-established technical form aimed at collecting sociodemographic data, clinical data, paraclinical data, and the treatment procedures. Analysis was done using the SPSS statistical software. A total of 614 cases of intracranial tumors were included among whom 35 presented histological evidence of ICMET. This gives a frequency of 5.7%. The sex ratio was 0.94, the mean age was 55.68 +/- 14.4 years, extremes 28 and 86 years and the age range 50 - 59 was affected in 28.57% of cases. The clinical presentation included signs of raised intracranial pressure (headache, blurred vision, vomiting) in 26 cases (74.3%), motor deficit 48.6%, seizures 17.1%. The mode of onset was metachronous in 71.4% and synchronous in 28.6%. The imaging techniques were cerebral CT scan in 82.9%, cerebral MRI in 40%, TAP scan in 22.9%. The metastatic lesions were supratentorial in 94.3% and single in 62.9%. The primary cancers found were breast cancer (31.4%), lung cancer (25.7%), prostate cancer (17.1%), thyroid cancer (5.7%), colon cancer (2.9%), and melanoma (2.9%). The therapeutic modalities were total resection (68.6%), radiotherapy (37.1%). Conclusion: Intracranial metastases are relatively frequent. There is a female sex predominance and the age group 50 - 59 years is the most affected. Brain metastases mostly occur in patients with a history of known primary tumor. The clinical signs mainly include signs of raised intracranial pressure, motor deficit, seizures and mental confusion. Cerebral CT Scan is the main imaging technique used. Most of the lesions are single and supratentorially located. The primary cancers most represented include breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer. Surgery is the main treatment procedure. The adjuvant treatment (radiotherapy, chemotherapy) was limited.

Intracranial Metastases, Epidemiology, Yaounde

Haman, N. , Anu, R. , Toto, O. , Figuim, B. , Baboke, I. , Nzedzou, M. and Djientcheu, V. (2024) Current Epidemiology of Intracranial Metastases in Two University Teaching Reference Hospitals of the Town of Yaounde, Cameroon: Analysis of 35 Cases Recorded in the Neurosurgery Departments. Open Journal of Modern Neurosurgery, 14, 124-136. doi: 10.4236/ojmn.2024.142014.