Retrospective Analysis of Paediatric Glial Tumours that Required Modern Molecular Techniques.

AIM: Advances in modern molecular techniques have led to extensive modification of the classification of central nervous system tumors. Modern molecular techniques require expensive infrastructure, trained and dedicated staff, and well-obtained optimal tissue. As a tertiary research and education hospital in a developing country, with a limited repository of modern techniques, we aimed to determine if our previous histological grading systems were sufficient or unreliable according to up-to-date literature.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The pathology reports of pediatric neurosurgery patients between 2019-2022 were accessed. Data on patients that needed unattainable further molecular investigation were extracted. Data were noted from electronic archives, including their sex, age, histologic grade, location, resection type, survival, and therapy.

RESULTS: Out of 61 surgeries, 17 patients needed further investigation for a proper 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) diagnosis. Seven were deceased, and nine were alive. Data on one foreign patient with high-grade glioma was inaccessible. Two of 10 patients with low-grade gliomas and five of six patients with high-grade gliomas were deceased. The average survival was 9 months for the deceased.

CONCLUSION: Modern molecular techniques such as next-generation sequencing and methylation profiling are the state-of-the-art methods, but it is hard for developing and underdeveloped countries to utilize such methods. The classification schemes, diagnostic key figures, and treatment modalities are developed using these techniques, but the less developed world is incapable of achieving these. We are trying to hybridize the modern and classic modalities, and the results of our study show that for overall survival, there is still not much difference. More economic and feasible techniques should be produced and summarized for the rest of the world.