Epidemiological features of brain tumors

Abstract

Brain tumors account for 1.4% of all cancers and 2.4% of all cancer-related deaths. The incidence of brain tumors varies and it is higher in developed countries of Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. In Serbia, according to data from 2009, malignant brain tumors account for 2.2 of all tumors, and from all cancer-related deaths, 3.2% is caused by malignant brain tumors. According to recent statistical reports, an overall incidence of brain tumors for benign and malignant tumors combined is 18.71 per 100,000 persons/year. The most common benign brain tumor in adults is meningioma, which is most present in women, and the most common malignant tumor is glioblastoma, which is most present in adult men. Due to high mortality, especially in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma and significant brain tumor morbidity, there is a constant interest in understanding its etiology in order to possibly prevent tumor occurrence in future and enable more efficient treatment strategies for this fatal brain disease. Despite the continuously growing number of epidemiological studies on possible factors of tumor incidence, the etiology remains unclear. The only established environmental risk factor of gliomas is ionizing radiation exposure. Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields via cell phone use has gained a lot of attention as a potential risk factor of brain tumor development. However, studies have been inconsistent and inconclusive, so more definite results are still expected.

Semiology of pathological conditions in patients indicated for stereotactic biopsy

“…As compared to these studies, our data show that the majority of respondents reported the occurrence of physical weakness, and pyramidal neurological lateralization was identified in more than half of the respondents, there was also a manifestation of spee- ch disorders in 40% of the sample, which would correspond to the results of the previous studies [12,13,22]. A slightly lower frequency in comparison to previous research was found in the presentation of epileptic seizures (13.8%).…”

“…Meningiomas are the most common benign brain tumors in people over 45 years of age and biopsies are often not necessary due to the very nature of the tumor [1]. Glial tumors are the most common brain tumors and account for 77% of all primary brain tumors [12]. Glioblastomas represent about 30% of all brain tumors [13], and in the sample studied, the most malignant glioblastoma multiforme occurred in 45% of patients.…”

“…Glioblastomas represent about 30% of all brain tumors [13], and in the sample studied, the most malignant glioblastoma multiforme occurred in 45% of patients. If we take into account the age of our respondents, their mean age being 62 years, then the frequency of this type of tumor can be also associated with a higher incidence of its occurrence in elderly respondents [12,14,15].…”

Realtionship between depression and meningiomas

“…Pacijenti kod kojih je upravo dijagnostikovan intrakranijalni ekspanzivni proces se suočavaju sa šokom i nevericom, disforijom, prolaze kroz osećaj bespomoćnosti, beznađa i gubitka, brinu o egzistencijalnim pitanjima. smanjuje se nivo socijalnog i profesionalnog funkcionisanja, oni se povlače u sebe, često imaju poremećaj koncentracije i svakodnevnih aktivnosti, kao i opsesivne misli o postojećoj dijagnozi te reaktivni simptomi mogu prerasti u veliku depresivnu epizodu 3,24 . Ovi simptomi često mogu biti teško odvojivi od depresivnih pacijenata bez tumora mozga i prisustvo bilo kog od ovih simptoma ne znači prisustvo meningioma.…”

“…Često su dugo neurološki mirni i manifestuju se jedino kroz psihijatrijske simptome dok ne postignu velike razmere. Promene psihičkog statusa početni su simptomi kod 15-20% pacijenata sa moždanim tumorom [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . Mogu biti uzrokovane direktnim dejstvom tumora, indirektno povećanjem intrakranijalnog pritiska nastalim usled rastućeg ekspanzivnog procesa ili kao reakcija na dijagnozu 2 .…”