Brain tumor epidemiology and demographics
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Brain tumor Microchapters |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Epidemiological record suggests a growing share each year of infants and children in the United States affected by brain tumors.
Epidemiology and Demographics
It is estimated that 22,340 new cases of primary malignant brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors will be diagnosed in the United States in 2011; of those, approximately 3,000 will be new cases of childhood primary brain and CNS tumors.The incidence and mortality rates for cancers that originate in the brain and CNS have decreased slightly in the past decade. Both incidence and mortality rates are substantially higher for whites than for people of other racial/ethnic groups. In all racial/ethnic groups, men have higher incidence and mortality rates than women. Brain tumors are the leading cause of death from solid tumor cancers in children; brain and CNS cancers make up approximately 27 percent of all childhood cancers. The incidence rate of brain and CNS cancers in children has risen slightly over the past three decades, but the death rate has dropped slightly over this period. It is estimated that approximately $3.7 billion is spent in the United States each year on brain cancer treatment.
Brain tumors in infants and children
In 2000 approximately 2.76 children per 100,000 will be affected by a CNS tumor in the United States each year. This rate has been increasing and by 2005 was 3.0 children per 100,000. This is approximately 2,500-3,000 pediatric brain tumors occurring each year in the US. The tumor incidence is increasing by about 2.7% per year. The CNS Cancer survival rate in children is approximately 60%.[1] However, this rate varies with the age of onset (younger has higher mortality) and cancer type.
In children under 2, about 70% of brain tumors are medulloblastoma, ependymoma, and low-grade glioma. Less commonly, and seen usually in infants, are teratoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor.[2]