Four cases of multifocal glioblastoma managed at a tertiary university hospital in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Glioblastomas are malignant, poorly differentiated tumours of glial origin. They are the most common primary brain tumours, oc­curring in 2 to 3 per 100 000 adults. Published data on glioblastomas in Africa are scarce; however, the incidence has been found to be lower in people of African origin. In 0.5% to 15% of all cases, glioblastomas manifest as multiple lesions. In this report, we describe 4 patients with multifocal glioblastoma managed at our institution.

There were 47 patients diagnosed with glioblastoma between 1 January and 31 December 2019, among whom we identified 4 (3 men and 1 woman) with multifocal glioblastoma and analysed their data. The median age at diagnosis was 50.5 years (range, 31-55 years). The median overall survival in our series was 8 months (range, 2-13 months). Two of our patients underwent excision of a single lesion, and the other 2 underwent biopsy only. One patient in our series received chemotherapy and radiotherapy after surgery. We found that multifocal glioblastoma is a rare presentation associated with poor outcomes.