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Brain tumors affect adolescents and young adults differently, more frequently
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Primary brain and central nervous system tumors are the third most common cause of cancer death in adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 39 years, according to a report published in Neuro-Oncology.
Further, brain and CNS tumors affect younger patients differently — both in their incidence and histology — according to patient age.
Although brain and CNS tumors are the most common type of cancer in adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, these tumors rank third in prevalence among individuals aged 34 to 39 years, behind breast cancer and thyroid cancer.
“When analyzing data in 5-year increments, researchers discovered that the adolescent and young adult population is not one group, but rather several distinct groups that are impacted by very different tumor types as they move into adulthood,” Elizabeth Wilson, MNA, president and CEO of the American Brain Tumor Association, said in a press release. “This report enables us … to zero in on the types of tumors occurring at key intervals over a 25-year time span to help guide critical research investments and strategies for living with a brain tumor that reflect the patient’s unique needs.”
Jill S. Barnholtz-Sloan, PhD, associate professor at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, and colleagues evaluated 2008 to 2012 data from the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States to conduct the first in-depth statistical analysis of brain and CNS tumors in adolescents and young adults (AYAs).
Researchers stratified the data by tumor type and location, as well as by age group (15-19 years, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34 and 35-39).
Overall, the data showed almost 700,000 people in the U.S. are living with brain or CNS tumors. Nearly 15% of these tumors occurred in the AYA population during the study period. Each year, 10,617 AYA patients are diagnosed with brain and CNS tumors, leading to 434 deaths.
However, researchers found the incidence of brain and CNS tumors varies according to age group.
Brain and CNS tumors are the most common cancers in individuals aged 15 to 19 years (6.19 per 100,000 population), but the second most common cancer among those aged 20 to 24 years (7.12 per 100,000), third most common cancer among those aged 25 to 29 years (9.93 per 100,000), fourth most common cancer among those aged 30 to 34 years (12.65 per 100,00) and third most common cancer among those aged 35 to 39 years (15.54 per 100,000).
Primary brain and CNS tumors are the third most common cause of death in the AYA cohort (1.09 per 100,00 population), following breast cancer (1.78 per 100,000) and colorectal cancer (1.19 per 100,000).
Researchers also found wide variability in the types of brain tumors diagnosed within these younger age groups, differing from those that occur in adult and pediatric populations.
“The most common tumor types observed in adults are meningiomas and glioblastomas, but there is much more diversity in the common tumor types observed in the adolescent and young adult population,” Barnholtz-Sloan said in a press release. “You also clearly see a transition from predominantly nonmalignant and low-grade tumors to predominantly high-grade tumors with increasing age.”
For instance, astrocytomas are the second most common histology among those aged 15 to 29 years (age 15-19 years, 20.9%; 20-24, 17.2%; 25-29, 15.5%) but the proportion of tumors that are astrocytomas decreases with increasing age. Meningiomas are the second most common histology among those aged 30 to 39 years (age 30-34 years, 18.4%; 35-39, 25.1%), and the incidence of meningiomas increases with age.
Overall, these findings provide specific details that allow for a more accurate comparison of incidence and survival of brain and CNS tumors that affect AYAs, according to the researchers.
“This report aims to … recognize the impact of these tumors on individuals belonging to this age group, and society overall and to serve as a useful resource for patients and patient families, surveillance organizations, policy makers, advocates, industry, researchers and clinicians,” Barnholtz-Sloan and colleagues wrote. – by Anthony SanFilippo
Disclosure: This study was funded by the American Brain Tumor Association. HemOnc Today was unable to confirm the researchers’ relevant financial disclosures at the time of reporting.
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