Brain Tumor Facts

• An estimated 1 million Americans are living with a primary brain tumor [1]
• Approximately 72% of all brain tumors are benign
• Approximately 28% of all brain tumors are malignant
• Approximately 59% of all brain tumors occur in females
• Approximately 41% of all brain tumors occur in males 
• An estimated 94,390 people will receive a new primary brain tumor diagnosis in 2023
  • An estimated 67,440 will be non-malignant (benign) in 2023
    • Non-malignant meningiomas are the most commonly occurring primary non-malignant brain tumors, accounting for 39.7% of all tumors and 55.4% of all non-malignant tumors
  • An estimated 26,940 will be malignant in 2023
    • Glioblastoma is the most commonly occurring primary malignant brain tumor, accounting for 14.2% of all tumors and 50.1% of all malignant tumors
• The median age at diagnosis for a primary brain tumor is 61 years
• The five-year relative survival rate for all patients with primary brain tumors is 76%
  • Survival rates vary by age at diagnosis and tumor type and generally decrease with age
  • For patients with non-malignant brain tumors, the average five-year relative survival rate is 91.8%
    • The most common primary non-malignant brain tumor, meningioma, has a average five-year survival of 88.2% after diagnosis 
    • For patients with malignant brain tumors, the five-year relative survival rate following diagnosis is 35.7%
    • For the most common form of primary malignant brain tumors, glioblastoma, the five-year relative survival rate is only 6.9% and median survival is only 8 months
• And estimated 18,990 people will die because of a malignant brain tumor (brain cancer) in 2023 [2]
• Brain cancer is estimated to be the 10th leading cause of cancer death in 2023 for both males and females in all age groups [2]

• Approximately 3.9% of all brain tumors cases diagnosed occur in children ages 0-14 years 
• An estimated 3,920 new cases of primary childhood brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2023 
• Brain tumors are the most commonly diagnosed solid cancer in children ages 0-14 years, as well as the leading cause of childhood cancer-related death 
• 13,657 children were estimated to be living with a primary brain tumor in the U.S. in 2010 [3]
• The five-year relative survival rate for all primary childhood brain tumors is 83.1% 
  • For primary malignant childhood tumors, the five-year relative survival rate is 75.6% [4]
• The most common brain tumor types in children ages 0-14 years are:
  • Pilocytic astrocytomas (18.7%)
  • Other gliomas (15.3%)
  • Embryonal tumors (12.2%)
    • Medulloblastomas make up the largest percentage of embryonal tumors (68.3%)
    • Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT) make up the second largest percentage of embryonal tumors (17.2%)
• Gliomas account for approximately 49.4% of tumors diagnosed in this age group

• Approximately 5.7% of all primary brain tumors occur in children and adolescents, ages 0-19 years
  • Approximately 1.7% of all brain tumors occur in the adolescent (15-19) population
  • Infants less than one year of age have the highest incidence of brain tumors of all children and adolescents 0-19 [3]
• An estimated 5,230 new cases of primary brain tumors in children and adolescents will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2023
• Brain tumors are the most common cancer in children and adolescents ages 0-19 years in the U.S. [3]
  • Brain tumors are the most common cancer overall in adolescents ages 15-19 years in the U.S. [2]
• The five-year relative survival rate for all primary pediatric brain tumors (0-19) is 83.9% [4]
  • For malignant tumors, the five-year relative survival rate is 75.6%
• Pediatric brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death among children and adolescents ages 0-19 years [2] 
  • AT/RT and high-grade gliomas have the lowest relative survival after diagnosis for patients 0-19 years with a brain tumor [3]
    • High-grade gliomas cause the greatest proportion of deaths (44.2%), followed by medulloblastoma and AT/RT [3]
  • Pilocytic astrocytoma has the highest survival rates after diagnosis
  • Relative survival rates generally improve with increasing age at diagnosis in this population group, with poorest survival in those less than a year old at diagnosis [3]
• The most common primary brain tumor types in children and adolescents ages 0-19 years are:
  • Pilocytic astrocytoma (15.3%)
  • Other gliomas (12.6%)
  • Embryonal tumors (9.2%)
    • Medulloblastoma account for the latest percentage of embryonal tumors in this population (69.5%)
• Gliomas account for approximately 44.6% of tumors in this age group (27.9% in ages 15-19 years)
• Tumors of the pituitary are the most common in the 15-19 age group (33.5%) 
• In children and adolescents, incidence is higher in females than males
• Incidence rates are highest among children and adolescents who are White compared to children and adolescents who are Black, Asian or Pacific Islander (APIA), or American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) 
• Incidence rates are highest among children and adolescents who are non-Hispanic compared to children and adolescents who are Hispanic
• It was estimated in 2009, that a total of 47,631.5 years of potential life were lost due to brain tumors in children and adolescents in the US [3]

• Approximately 14.3% of all primary brain tumors occur in the AYA population
• An estimated 11,660 new cases of primary brain tumors will be diagnosed in AYA patients in 2023
• Brain tumors are the second most common cancer overall in individuals ages 15-39 and the second leading cause of cancer related death in those 15-39 years of age
• The five-year relative survival rate for AYA patients diagnosed with a primary brain tumor is 90.9%
  • The rate is 71.7% for malignant tumors and 98.3% for non-malignant tumors
• The most common primary brain tumors in the AYA population are:
  • Tumors of pituitary (36.0%) 
  • Meningiomas (15.9%)
  • Nerve sheath tumors (8.6%)
• Gliomas account for approximately 24.8% of all primary AYA brain tumors and 82.4% of all malignant tumors in this group
• AYA had higher rates of relative survival than adults greater than 40 years old for all histopathologic types. Though one-year relative survival for most tumor types was higher for AYA than children, five- and ten-year survival were usually higher for children as compared to AYA.

• Approximately 81.7% of all primary brain tumors occur in the adult population
• An estimated 79,340 adults age 40+ will be diagnosed with a primary brain tumor in 2023 in the U.S.
• Brain tumors are the seventh most common tumor type overall and the sixth most common cause of cancer related death among persons ages 40+ years
• For adults ages 20+ years, age-specific incidence rates for primary brain tumors are highest among those age 85+
• The five-year relative survival rate for adults diagnosed with a primary brain tumor is 72.5%
  • The five-year relative survival rate for those ages 40+ years is 21% for malignant tumors and 90.3% for non-malignant tumors
• The most common primary brain tumor types in adults are:
  • Meningiomas (46.1%)
  • Glioblastoma (16.4%)
  • Tumors of the pituitary (14.5%)
• For 2023, the highest number of new cases is predicted in those age 65+ years
• Older adults (40+ years old) had poorer survival than children (0-14 years) in nearly all primary brain tumor types

• Overall, people who are Black have slightly higher incidence rates of primary brain tumors compared to other races, followed by people who are White, APIA, and AIAN
  • Incidence rates of non-malignant brain tumors are highest in people who are Black, followed by people who are White, APIA, and AIAN
  • Incidence rates of malignant brain tumors are highest in people who are White, followed by people who are Black, AIAN, and APIA
• Incidence rates for specific brain tumor types vary**:
  • Individual who are White have significantly higher incidence rates for glioblastoma, all other astrocytomas, embryonal tumors, and nerve sheath tumors compared to people who are Black
  • Individual who are Black have higher rates of meningioma and pituitary tumors compared to people who are White
• Overall incidence rates of brain tumors are higher in people who are non-Hispanic than people who are Hispanic 
• Individuals who are Black, non-Hispanic have poorer survival outcomes compared to people who are White, non-Hispanic with the exception of glioblastoma, unique astrocytoma variants, other neuroepithelial tumors, other hemopoietic neoplasms, germ cell tumors, and neoplasms unspecified
• Individuals who are AIAN, non-Hispanic have poorer overall survival as compared to individuals who are White, non-Hispanic in many tumor types, though the small size of this population means that many of these associations are not biologically significant
• Individuals who are APIA, non-Hispanic have improved survival in many tumor types compared to White, not Hispanic, though many of these associations were non-significant
• Hispanic ethnicity was associated with improved survival in most brain tumor types

*The U.S. Census Bureau defines race as a person’s self-identification with one or more social groups, which can include white, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and/or Other Pacific Islander. Federal statistical standards used by the Census and the National Center for Education Statistics, conceptualize a person’s ethnicity into one of two categories: Hispanic (or Latino/a/x) or Not Hispanic (Latino/a/x). A Hispanic (or Latino/a/x) person can self-report as any race.

**While there are several tumor types where significant differences in incidence were observed by race and/or ethnicity, in most cases the actual difference in incidence rates is small and may not be significant. 

• Overall, incidence rates for all primary brain tumors are higher in females (58.7% of diagnoses) than in males (41.3%)
• Non-malignant primary brain tumors occur more often in females (64.4%) than in males (35.6%)
• Malignant primary brain tumors occur more often in males (55.8%) than in females (44.2%)
• Incidence rates for specific brain tumor types vary by sex. For example, glioblastoma is more common in males, while meningioma is more common in females
• Overall, males have higher mortality rates from malignant brain tumors than females, and generally worse survival outcomes with the exception of glioblastoma, malignant gliomas, embryonal tumors, other hematopoietic neoplasms, and germ cell tumors

• Unlike other types of cancer, primary brain tumors are not staged. They are grouped according to the WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System, which assigns a “grade” of 1-4 based on how aggressive the tumor is predicted to behave, clinically
  • Grade 1 tumors, such as some meningiomas, are the lowest and typically least aggressive grade. Grade 4 tumors, such as glioblastoma, are the highest and most aggressive grade of tumors
• Only a few treatments have ever been approved for the more than 100 types of brain tumors. None of these extend survival more than two years on average, or are considered to be curative. [5]
  • For many tumor types, surgery and radiation remain the standard of care, and national guidelines suggest that clinical trials remain the best place to care for patients
• Survival rates for adult and pediatric patients with brain tumors have not changed significantly over the past 45 years despite major improvements made in the treatment of other cancers.
• Each year, approximately 70,000-200,000 patients are diagnosed with brain metastases (metastatic brain tumors/secondary brain tumors), while ~100,000 will die every year as the result of brain metastases [6] [10]
  • The incidence of brain metastases appears to be increasing [7]
  • Several studies have cited that the percentage of patients with cancer who will develop brain metastases is anywhere from approximately 10% to 30% [8] [9]
  • Virtually all cancers have been associated with the ability to metastasize to the brain
    • These include melanoma (where it’s been estimated that most cases will metastasize to the brain), lung, breast, renal, and colorectal cancers [10] [11] [12]
  • Metastatic brain tumors are five times more common than primary brain tumors (those that originate in the brain). [9]