Epidemiology of primary brain tumor (overview)

The subject of the overview is population-based studies on the epidemiology of primary brain tumors (PBT). Currently, PBTs include 87 morphological variants of tumors, divided into six classes. PBTs are rare disease: in Western Europe, USA, Australia and Russia, the incidence is 4-19 per 100 000 population. The most common PBTs are neuroepithelial tumors, among which in adults glioblastoma is leading. Average growth rate of PBT incidence in Russia outstrips all other common malignancies and accounts 2.9% annually. There are significant differences in incidence between the races and sexes, age, place of residence. The only proven risk factor for PBT is ionizing radiation, used for therapeutic purposes. The risk of PBT is higher in patients with inherited genetic syndromes, polymorphic variants in genes GSTT1, CYP2D6, TP53. History of allergies may be a protective factor for PBT. In most geographic regions, including Russia, the mortality rates from PBT are similar to incidence rates. The rate of increase in mortality (world standard) in Russia over the last decade is lower than the incidence rate: 7% to 33%.