Abstract

Objective: To systematically investigate the status of CNS cancer research in Pakistan.

Methods: Local (PakMedinet) as well as international (PubMed, ISI WoK) were deep-mined using keywords covering various types of malignant CNS tumours. Publications were extracted. An in-house built pipeline of data filtration was applied to obtain relevant studies for further analyses. Data were analyzed using SPSS and/or PRISM. Descriptive statistics including percentages, frequencies were reported.

Results: Of the 305 total researches retrieved initially, a total of 170 fulfilled the inclusion criteria pipeline. Of these 170 publications, 120 were original articles, 27 were review articles, 18 were case reports and 5 were other publication categories. Cumulative citations received by these 170 publications were 1295. The latest article of CNS cancer was published in 2021, suggesting active research in this area from Pakistan. A total of 81 publications were published in international journals while 89 were publications in Pakistani journals. Overall, the highest number of publications were published in the J Pak Med Assoc, followed by J. Ayub Med. Coll. Abbottabad, and then by Pak J Neuro Surg. The highest number of publications was published from the Aga Khan University, Karachi, followed by Ayub Medical College Abbottabad and University of the Punjab, Lahore.

Conclusion: Taken together, this is the first report detailing status of CNS cancer research in Pakistan. While there are a good number of publications available addressing CNS cancers in Pakistan, these tumours must be investigated further as their incidence, prevalence and associated mortality are on rise in the country.