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Population-based epidemiological study of primary intracranial tumors in childhood
Keishi Makino1, Hideo Nakamura, Shigetoshi Yano
1Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University Graduate School, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. kmakino@fc.kuh.kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
Insights
Childhood brain tumor incidence in Kumamoto, Japan, mirrors Western rates. However, specific tumor types like germ cell tumors and craniopharyngiomas show different frequencies compared to Western countries.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in children.
- Accurate epidemiological data is crucial for understanding disease burden and guiding research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence and epidemiological characteristics of childhood primary intracranial tumors in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.
- To compare these findings with data from Western countries.
Main Methods:
- A population-based survey of 210 pediatric patients (under 15 years) diagnosed with primary intracranial tumors between 1989 and 2008.
- Microscopic confirmation of 159 (75.7%) of the diagnosed tumors.
Main Results:
- The age-adjusted annual incidence rate was 36.1 cases per million children, with a 1.31 boys/girls ratio.
- Astrocytoma was the most common tumor (35.7%), followed by germ cell tumors (14.3%) and craniopharyngioma (10.5%).
- Tumor type distribution varied significantly by age and gender, with notable differences in germ cell tumors and medulloblastomas between age groups and sexes.
Conclusions:
- The overall incidence of childhood brain tumors in Kumamoto is comparable to Western populations.
- Significant differences exist in the relative frequencies of specific histological types, such as germ cell tumors and craniopharyngiomas, between Japan and Western countries.
Object:
Brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children and their prognosis is poor. Epidemiologic data from a population-based cancer registry provide the information necessary to determine the incidence rate of pediatric brain tumors. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiology of childhood primary intracranial tumors in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.
Methods:
We surveyed 210 patients younger than 15 years who were diagnosed with primary intracranial tumors between 1989 and 2008; 159 (75.7%) of the tumors were confirmed microscopically.
Results:
The age-adjusted annual incidence rate was 36.1 cases per million children. The boys/girls ratio was 1.31. The age-specific annual incidence rate was 28.5-, 40.9-, and 38.4 cases per million for the 0- to 4-, 5- to 9-, and 10- to 14-year age group, respectively. The incidence was highest in 10- to 14-year-old boys (53.6 per million) and lowest in 10- to 14-year-old girls (22.6 per million). The most common tumor was astrocytoma (35.7%) with an annual incidence rate of 13.2 per million, followed by germ cell tumor (14.3%, 5.0 per million), craniopharyngioma (10.5%, 3.8 per million), medulloblastoma (10.0%, 3.7 per million), and ependymoma (4.8%, 1.5 per million). The distribution of the tumor type varied with the patient age and gender. Although there were no germ cell tumors in 0- to 4-year-old boys, they were the second-most common tumor in 10- to 14-year-old boys. Conversely, while there were no medulloblastomas in 10- to 14-year-old girls, their incidence was high in 0- to 4-year-old girls.
Conclusions:
In this Kumamoto survey, the incidence rate of primary intracranial tumors in children was similar to that in Western countries. However, the incidence and relative frequency of particular histological types of childhood brain tumors such as germ cell tumors and craniopharyngiomas were different between Japan and Western countries.
