Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Histology is a decisive step in neuro-oncological practice. It conditions complementary therapies which sometimes remain orphans due to the difficulties of precise and early diagnosis. OBJECTIVES: To assess the histological profile of neurosurgical conditions operated or not and to determine the limits and diagnostic pitfalls. MATERIALS & METHOD: This was a two-center retrospective study over a decade (January 2015 to December 2024), collecting the files of patients with radiodiagnosis of nervous system tumors and annexes, operated on or not, with/without histological diagnosis available. The data collected was analyzed and discussed according to the Literature. RESULTS: Seventy-six patients were operated on out of the one hundred and thirty-seven collected during the period (55.4%), but only sixty-two had histological results (81.5%). The sex ratio was 0.75 (59 males to 78 females). The average age was 46.9 years (range = 4 and 81 years). Refusal of surgery/biopsy, technical difficulty, prejudices were the barriers found among those not operated on. The histological obstacles were access to histodiagnostic progress, late results transmitted or not returned by families. At the brain level, meningothelial meningioma was the predominant histological type in adults (32%) and low-grade astrocytoma in children (26%). At the spinal level, metastatic sarcoma was more common in children and adults. DISCUSSION – CONCLUSION: The limits in our context to safe and early histological diagnosis constitute a significant bias to an exhaustive neuropathology map and consistent neuro-oncological monitoring.