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Fact Sheet
  • Incidence rates are age-adjusted using the 2000 United States standard population unless otherwise noted.

  • CBTRUS (Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States) incidence rates and estimated new cases include all primary malignant and non-malignant tumors of the brain, central nervous system, pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity.

  • SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program) incidence and survival rates extracted from the SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2004 include primary malignant tumors of the brain and central nervous system, excluding lymphomas, leukemias, tumors of the pituitary and pineal gland, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity.

  • SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program) incidence and survival rates estimated using the SEER Cancer Incidence Public-Use Database, 1973-2004 include all primary malignant tumors of the brain, central nervous system, pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity, including lymphomas and leukemias.

  • ACS (American Cancer Society) estimated new cases and deaths include primary malignant tumors of the brain and central nervous system, excluding lymphoma, leukemias, tumors of the pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity.

  • IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) worldwide incidence rates include primary malignant tumors of the brain and central nervous system, excluding lymphoma, leukemias, tumors of the pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity. Global rates are age-adjusted using the world standard population. These rates may be compared to other rates adjusted to the world standard population, but they cannot be compared to rates adjusted to other population standards, such as the 2000 United States standard population.
Incidence
  • CBTRUS: The incidence rate of all primary non–malignant and malignant brain and central nervous system tumors is 16.5 cases per 100,000 person–years (9.2 per 100,000 person–years for non–malignant tumors and 7.3 per 100,000 person–years for malignant tumors). The rate is higher in females (17.2 per 100,000 person–years) than males (15.8 per 100,000 person–years). 1a

  • CBTRUS: An estimated 51,410 new cases of primary non–malignant and malignant brain and central nervous system tumors are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2007. 1b

  • SEER: The incidence rate of primary malignant brain and central nervous system tumors (excluding lymphomas, leukemias, tumors of pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity) is 6.4 cases per 100,000 person–years. This rate is higher in males (7.7 per 100,000 person–years) than females (5.4 per 100,000 person–years). 2a

  • ACS: An estimated 20,500 new cases of primary malignant brain and central nervous system tumors are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2007 (11,170 in males and 9,330 in females). This represents 1.42% of all primary malignant cancers expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2007. 3

  • IARC: The worldwide incidence rate of primary malignant brain and central nervous system tumors, age–adjusted using the world standard population, is 3.7 per 100,000 person–years in males and 2.6 per 100,000 person–years in females. This represents an estimated 108,277 males and 81,305 females who were diagnosed with a primary malignant brain tumor in 2002, an overall total of 189,582 individuals. The incidence rates are higher in more developed countries (males: 5.8 per 100,000 person–years; females: 4.1 per 100,000 person–years) than in less developed countries (males: 3.0 per 100,000 person–years; females: 2.1 per 100,000 person–years). 4

  • CBTRUS: CBTRUS has calculated a preliminary worldwide estimate of 186,835 newly diagnosed primary non–malignant brain and central nervous system tumors per annum for 2002 (males: n=80,769; females: n=106,066). The preliminary worldwide incidence rate of primary non–malignant brain and central nervous system tumors is estimated to be 2.9 per 100,000 (males: 2.5 per 100,000; females: 3.3 per 100,000). 5
Pediatric Incidence (Ages 0-19)
  • CBTRUS: The incidence rate of childhood primary non–malignant and malignant brain and central nervous system tumors is 4.5 cases per 100,000 person–years. The rate is higher in males (4.7 per 100,000 person–years) than females (4.3 per 100,000 person–years). 1a

  • CBTRUS: An estimated 3,750 new cases of childhood primary non–malignant and malignant brain and central nervous system tumors are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2007.1b Of these 3,750 new cases, an estimated 2,820 will be in children less than 15 years of age. 1b

Mortality

  • ACS: An estimated 12,740 deaths will be attributed to primary malignant brain and central nervous system tumors in the United States in 2007. 3

Lifetime Risk

  • SEER: Males have a 0.67% lifetime risk of being diagnosed with a primary malignant brain/central nervous system tumor and 0.48% chance of dying from a brain/central nervous system tumor (excluding lymphomas, leukemias, tumors of pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity). 2b
  • SEER: Females have a 0.53% lifetime risk of being diagnosed with a primary malignant brain/central nervous system tumor and a 0.39% chance of dying from a brain/central nervous system tumor (excluding lymphomas, leukemias, tumors of pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity). 2c

Survival

  • SEER: The five–year relative survival rate following diagnosis of a primary malignant brain and central nervous system tumor (including lymphomas and leukemias, tumors of the pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity) is 28.8% for males and 31.6% for females (1973–2004 data). 6
  • SEER: Five–year relative survival rates following diagnosis of a primary malignant brain and central nervous system tumor (including lymphomas and leukemias, tumors of the pituitary and pineal glands, and olfactory tumors of the nasal cavity) by age of diagnosis (1973–2004 data): 6
Age 0-19 years: 66.0% Age 55-64 years: 11.1%
Age 20-44 years: 49.2% Age 65-74 years: 6.7%
Age 45-54 years: 24.0% Age 75 or older: 4.7%

Prevalence

  • CBTRUS: The prevalence rate for all primary brain and central nervous system tumors was estimated to be 130.8 per 100,000. It was estimated that more than 359,000 persons were living with a diagnosis of primary brain and central nervous system tumor in the United States in 2000 (malignant tumor: more than 81,000 persons; benign tumor: more than 267,000 persons; tumor of uncertain behavior: more than 10,000 persons). The prevalence rate for primary brain and central nervous system tumors by behavior was 29.5 per 100,000 (malignant), 97.5 per 100,000 (benign), and 3.8 per 100,000 (uncertain behavior). 7
  • CBTRUS: The prevalence rate for all pediatric (ages 0-19) primary brain and central nervous system tumors was estimated at 9.5 per 100,000 with more than 26,000 children estimated to be living with this diagnosis in the United States in 2000. The prevalence rate for pediatric primary malignant brain and central nervous system tumors was 7.9 per 100,000 with more than 21,000 children estimated to be living with a diagnosis of primary malignant brain/central nervous system tumor in the United States in 2000. 7

1a. Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States data, 2000–2004.
1b. CBTRUS 2000–2004 data. United States population estimates by 5–year age group were obtained from United States census; estimates available at www.census.gov. Projections were from the Interim State Projections of Population for July 1, 2007 with a total United States population of 300,912,947. (Released April 2005). For further information on calculating expected numbers of tumors, please see Davis FG, McCarthy BJ, Jukich P, “The descriptive epidemiology of brain tumors” Neuroimaging Clinics of North America, V. 9, No. 4, November, 1999.

2. Ries LAG, Melbert D, Krapcho M, Mariotto A, Miller BA, Feuer EJ, Clegg L, Horner MJ, Howlader N, Eisner MP, Reichman M, Edwards BK (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2004, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2004/, based on November 2006 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, 2007.
2a. Table III(10) 2000–2004 data.
2b. Table I(15) 2002–2004 data; Table I(18) 2002–2004 data.
2c. Table I(16) 2002–2004 data; Table I(19) 2002–2004 data.

3. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2007. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2007.

4. Ferlay J, Bray F, Pisani P and Parkin DM. GLOBOCAN 2002: Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide, Version 2.0. IARC CancerBase No. 5. Lyon, IARCPress, 2004. Limited version available from: URL: http://www_depdb.iarc.fr/globocan2002.htm.

5. CBTRUS developed statistical models based on country level or geographical region tumor registry statistics, brain tumor statistics in the literature, and population demographics to calculate non–malignant tumor incidence.

6. Estimated by CBTRUS using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database: Incidence —SEER 9 Regs Limited–Use, Nov 2006 Sub (1973–2004), National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, Cancer Statistics Branch, released April 2007, based on the November 2006 submission.

7. Davis FG, Kupelian V, Freels S, McCarthy B, Surawicz T. Prevalence estimates for primary brain tumors in the United States by behavior and major histology groups. Neuro-Oncology. 3(3):152-158, 2001.