Background: Although primary malignant CNS tumors are registered in the national cancer registry (NCR)of Iran, there are no available data on the incidence of the primary malignant or benign CNS tumors and theircommon histopathologies in the country. This study analyzed the 10-year data of the Iranian NCR from March21, 2000 to March 20, 2010, including a systematic review. Materials and Methods: The international and nationalscientific databases were searched using the search keywords CNS, tumor, malignancy, brain, spine, neoplasmand Iran. Results: Of the 1,086 primary results, 9 papers were selected and reviewed, along with analysis of10-year NCR data. The results showed that primary malignant brain tumors have an overall incidence of 2.74per 100,000 person-years. The analysis of the papers revealed a benign to malignant ratio of 1.07. The mostcommon histopathologies are meningioma, astrocytoma, glioblastoma and ependymoma. These tumors are morecommon in men (M/F=1.48). Primary malignant spinal cord tumors constitute 7.1% of the primary malignantCNS tumors with incidence of 0.21/100,000. Conclusions: This study shows that CNS tumors in Iran are incompliance with the pattern of CNS tumors in developing countries. The NCR must include benign lesions tounderstand the definitive epidemiology of primary CNS tumors in Iran.
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