Brain Tumors

Definition

Primary brain tumors present most commonly as meningioma or various grades of astrocytoma. Gliomasconstitute 78% of all malignant brain and central nervous system tumors. It is estimated that approximately 20,500 individuals will be diagnosed with cancer of the brain and nervous system in 2007, or about 1.4% of all newly occurring malignancies. Of those diagnosed, there will be 10% more men than women. Primary brain and nervous system cancers will account for 2.3% of the estimated 560,000 cancer deaths in 2007. Based on the most recent report of the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, benign tumors of the CNS arise in numbers comparable to malignant brain tumors. In children and young adults, brain tumors are responsible for 25% of all cancer-related deaths, second only to leukemia in this age group. The estimated 5-year relative survival rate for malignant brain tumors is 29%, but there is much variation in survival, depending on tumor histology. The 5-year...