Brain tumors in childhood and adolescence in West Sweden 1970-1984: epidemiology and survival

The epidemiology of brain tumors among children and adolescents, and the rate of survival from this malignancy were assessed in West Sweden. The case records of 198 children, ranging from infancy to about 17 years old, who were diagnosed with brain tumors between 1970 and 1984, were obtained from the Swedish Cancer Registry. The incidence of brain tumors each year was estimated to be 34.9 cases per million persons, and was considered high compared with other countries. There were more children with brain tumors from infancy to four years compared with the age groups of five to nine years and 10 to 14 years. Certain types of brain tumors were more prevalent, including astrocytomas affecting 25 percent of the patients, and primitive neuroectodermal/ medulloblastomas (PNET/MB), affecting 21 percent of the patients. Brain tumors were associated with other nerve diseases including neurofibromatosis, the development of tumors of various sizes on peripheral nerves, and Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome. Brain tumors occurred with the same frequency among males and females, although PNET/MB was more prevalent among males. The percentage of surviving patients with brain tumors was 54 percent at five years, and 49 percent at 15 years after diagnosis, but there was wide variation in survival rates among the subgroups. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)