from Section II - Disorders
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2010
Introduction
This chapter will focus on brain tumors across the lifespan with an emphasis on the contribution of developmental factors to incidence, presentation, treatment, and outcome. The epidemiology, classification, signs and symptoms, and major types of treatment of brain tumors are reviewed for children and adults. Neuropsychological outcomes and management strategies are then described for each of these populations separately.
Epidemiology
It is estimated that over 51,000 new cases of primary brain tumors were diagnosed in the USA in 2007, including over 3700 new cases of childhood primary brain tumors [1]. Brain tumors are the most common solid tumor of childhood and a leading cause of cancer-related death; in adults, they constitute the sixth most common neoplasm [2, 3]. The incidence of different types of tumors varies by age group, histology, and location. Survival rates also vary significantly among age groups [Table 13b.1]. Primary brain tumors develop as a consequence of genetic, molecular, or cytogenetic errors that allow cells to proliferate and turn off mechanisms that regulate cell growth [4]. Investigation into the molecular basis of tumorigenesis is an active area of neuroscience research though identification of specific causes of brain tumors has remained elusive, particularly in the case of childhood tumors. Primary risk factors for brain tumors include certain hereditary syndromes associated with mutations of tumor suppressor genes (neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Type 2, Turcot syndrome, nevoid basal cell carcinoma (Gorlin) syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, and Li-Fraumeni syndrome) and exposure to ionizing radiation.
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