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This research aims to characterize age-related patterns of brain tumors and assess multidisciplinary care in a low-middle-income country cohort.

June 26, 2026Open Access

ID #763 From Infancy to Adolescent and Young Adulthood(AYA): Age-Stratified Landscape of Brain Tumors in a Large LMIC Cohort Highlighting Fragmented Multidisciplinary Care and Opportunities for Improvement

Key Points

This research aims to characterize age-related patterns of brain tumors and assess multidisciplinary care in a low-middle-income country cohort.
Single center retrospective review of electronic medical records from 2014 to 2024.
Analysis of clinical-pathologic, demographic, and MDT care data for patients aged <40 years.
Examination of overall survival rates and treatment allocation based on age groups.
Only 37% of patients received definitive treatment, with significant differences in MDT involvement (14%, p=0.001).
Medulloblastoma was common in infants (47%), while gliomas (64%) predominated in AYA, with significant impact on overall survival (OS) based on diagnosis (p=0.001).
Treated patients had 2- and 5-year OS rates of 62% and 55%, respectively, revealing gaps in care delivery and treatment.

Abstract

Abstract Background Brain tumor(BT) in children and adolescent and Young adults(AYA) show age-related heterogeneity, yet data on age-stratified incidence and multidisciplinary team (MDT)–based care from LMICs remain scarce. Material and Methods Single centre retrospective review of electronic medical records for demographic, clinico-pathologic, MDT care (neurosurgery, radiation and paediatric/medical oncology team participation at any point in time) and overall-survival (OS) data of patients aged 40 years with primary BTs between January 2014 - December 2024 from a tertiary referral centre in India. Results Among 641 patients, infants(3 years) constituted 3%, children(3-14 years) 23%, and AYA (15-39 years)74%; predominantly from urban regions(87.2%) and male gender(68%). Median symptom duration prior to presentation was 30 days (range, 10days–5years). Medulloblastoma(47%) in infants and, gliomas(64%) in AYA were the most frequent diagnosis; 66% of all gliomas were high- grade likely due to referral bias. Tumor location varied by age: posterior fossa(children) vs, supratentorial(infants and AYA)(p = 0.02). Only 37%(243/641) underwent definitive treatment that did not vary by age. MDT care delivery remained inconsistent across different age groups 14% (p-value-0.001) with 17 % vs 0.4% in those seeking definitive treatment vs opinion (pvalue-0.001). However , medulloblastoma patients demonstrated highest utilization(37%, p = 0.006). The treated cohort had 2- and 5-year actuarial OS of 62% and 55%, respectively. On univariate analysis, diagnosis and tumor site influenced OS; however, only diagnosis remained significant on multivariate analysis (p = 0.001). Conclusion Our study reveals distinct age-stratified patterns of paediatric and AYA BTs presentation, low treatment uptake, urban bias, and substantial gaps in MDTcare highlighting critical opportunities to strengthen referral pathways, expand outreach to underserved rural populations, and institutionalize MDT workflows. This analysis resulted in establishment of paediatric/AYA neuro-oncology tumor board at our centre, representing a scalable model to improve equitable care and BT outcomes in LMIC setting.

ID #763 From Infancy to Adolescent and Young Adulthood(AYA): Age-Stratified Landscape of Brain Tumors in a Large LMIC Cohort Highlighting Fragmented Multidisciplinary Care and Opportunities for Improvement

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Abstract

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