Fact #1
Each year in the United States, approximately 210,000 new cases of brain tumors (60,000 primary and 150,000 secondary) and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors are diagnosed – that’s 575 each day, or 23 each hour. Even more frightening, these numbers are on the rise.
New Cases on the Rise
The period from 1980 to 2000 saw an increase of nearly 50% in the estimated number of new cases of malignant brain/CNS tumors in the U.S. While these figures are certainly impacted by an aging population and better diagnosis techniques, potential environmental factors that have directly affected this rate increase are unknown at this time.
Survival Rates
Brain tumor survival rates differ depending on the specific type of brain tumor in question – of which there are more than 120 – and many other factors, including the patient’s general health and age at the time of diagnosis, which both play an important part in how the patient may react to certain medical therapies and treatments. It is important to note that a “survival rate” when discussing brain tumors is generally defined as living five years from the date of diagnosis – which is when the patient stops being tracked in a given study and is not necessarily an indicator of long-term survival.
In terms of specific survival rates, a close examination reveals that these rates vary widely depending on the tumor. For example, five-year survival rates exceed 90% for pilocytic astrocytomas (Grade 2 brain tumor) but are less than 5% for a glioblastoma multiforme (Grade 4 brain tumor). Overall, for the period of 1997–2001, the estimated five-year survival rate (from date of diagnosis) for primary malignant brain tumors is 28%. This figure, which represents an average, combines the survival rates for all of the various types of primary malignant brain tumors.
Types of Brain Tumors
The following list reveals the current five-year survival statistics based on tumor type for some of the most common brain tumors:
Glioblastoma multiforme (Grade 4) 3.4%
Anaplastic astrocytoma (Grade 3) 30%
Anaplastic oligodendroglioma (Grade 3) 42%
PNET/medulloblastoma 55%
Oligodendroglioma (Grade 1 or 2) 70%
Ependymoma 70%
Pilocytic astrocytoma 91%
