Brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours incidence statistics

The most common specific location for malignant brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours in the UK is the brain (2016-2018).[1-4] Variation of incidence by anatomical site may reflect the physical size of each site, and differences in risk factor exposure by site, among other factors.

Cases and percentages may not sum due to rounding

The most common specific location for benign brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours in the UK is the meninges (2016-2018).[1-4] Variation of incidence by anatomical site may reflect the physical size of each site, and differences in risk factor exposure by site, among other factors.

 

Cases and percentages may not sum due to rounding

 

See also

Find out more about the counting and coding of this data

References

  1. Data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (part of Public Health England), on request through the Office for Data Release, July 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk
  2. Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, April 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications.
  3. Data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales, March 2021. https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-incidence-in-wales-2002-2018/
  4. Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, June 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/

About this data

Data is for UK, 2016-2018, ICD-10 C70-C72, C75.1-C75.3, D32-D33, D35.2-D35.4, D42-D43, D44.3-D44.5. For some cases the specific location of the cancer is not recorded, this may be due to clinical or data recording factors.

Last reviewed: 10 March 2022

Brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates) in England in females are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 8% lower in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).[1]

It is estimated that there are around 190 fewer cases of brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours each year in males in England than there would be if every deprivation quintile had the same age-specific crude incidence rates as the least deprived quintile.

Estimated Average Number of Fewer Cases per Year

European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population

No data are shown for females as the difference in age-standardised incidence rates between most and least deprived quintiles is not significant for females.

See also

Data table: Cancer incidence rates and excess cases by cancer type in England

Incidence by deprivation for all cancer types combined

Brain, other CNS and intracranial tumours cancer mortality by deprivation  (not directly comparable with incidence by deprivation)

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Scotland

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Wales

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Northern Ireland

References

  1. Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, April 2020. Based on method reported in National Cancer Intelligence Network Cancer by Deprivation in England Incidence, 1996-2010 Mortality, 1997-2011. Using cancer incidence data 2013-2017 (Public Health England) and population data 2013-2017 (Office for National Statistics) by Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015 income domain quintile, cancer type, sex, and five-year age band.

About this data

Data is for England, 2013-2017, ICD-10 C21.

Last reviewed: 30 September 2020

In the UK more than 9,700 people were still alive at the end of 2006, up to ten years after being diagnosed with a tumour in the brain, or other parts of the CNS (C70-C72).[1]

Brain and other parts of CNS (C70-C72), One-, Five- and Ten- Year Cancer Prevalence, UK, 31st December 2006

  1 year prevalence 5 year prevalence 10 year prevalence
Male 1,148 3,633 5,456
Female 986 2,650 4,252
Persons 2,434 6,283 9,708

 

Download this data [xls] Download this data [ppt] Download this data [pdf]

Worldwide, it is estimated that there were around 317,000 patients with these tumours were still alive in 2008, up to five years after their diagnosis of brain or other CNS tumour (C70-C72).[2]

See also

Cancer incidence statistics for common cancers in the UK

What is prevalence?

References

  1. National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN). One, Five and Ten Year Cancer Prevalence by Cancer Network, UK, 2006 London: NCIN; 2010.
  2. Ferlay J, Shin HR, Bray F, et al. DM GLOBOCAN 2008 v1.2, Cancer incidence and mortality worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 10 [Internet]. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2010. Available from http://globocan.iarc.fr. Accessed May 2011.

About this data

Data is for: All UK patients who had been diagnosed with brain cancer between 1997 and 2006, ICD-10 C70-72

Last reviewed: 17 May 2013

There are presently no reliable data on the incidence of secondary brain, other CNS and intracranial cancers – tumours which have metastasised (spread) to these sites from elsewhere in the body. In some patients, brain, other CNS and intracranial metastases may not manifest clinically in the patient’s lifetime, or a formal diagnosis may not be obtained if the patient is extremely unwell with their primary cancer. Therefore current estimates of the number of secondary tumours are thought to be conservative.[1] However, data collection is improving, and in coming years it should be possible to report national data for the number of cancers in the brain, other CNS and intracranial region which started elsewhere in the body.[2]

The best current estimate is that secondary brain cancers occur in at least 6% of all cancer patients, with marked variation by primary cancer site.[1] The proportion ranges from less than 1% of patients with thyroid, liver, stomach, prostate, uterine or ovarian cancers, to 20% of those with lung cancer.[1,3] Based on this estimate, metastatic brain tumours are thought to outnumber primary malignant brain tumours by at least three to one.[1]

See also

Find out more about the counting and coding of this data

Cancer incidence statistics for common cancers in the UK

References

  1. Davis FG, Dolecek TA, McCarthy BJ, et al. Toward determining the lifetime occurrence of metastatic brain tumors estimated from 2007 United States cancer incidence data. Neuro-Oncology 2012;14(9):1171-77.
  2. Eastern Cancer Registry and Information Centre (ECRIC), National Brain Tumour Registry.  Personal communication, February 2013.
  3. Barnholtz-Sloan JS, Sloan AE, et al. Incidence proportions of brain metastases in patients diagnosed (1973 to 2001) in the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System. J Clin Oncol 2004;22(14):2865-72.

About this data

Data is for: USA, 2007

Last reviewed: 31 May 2013

Statistics by cancer type

View our latest cancer statistics including key stats, in-depth explanations and raw data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, risk, and diagnosis and treatment.

 

View full A-Z of cancer statistics

Citation

You are welcome to reuse this Cancer Research UK content for your own work.
Credit us as authors by referencing Cancer Research UK as the primary source. Suggested styles are:

Web content: Cancer Research UK, full URL of the page, Accessed [month] [year].
Publications: Cancer Research UK ([year of publication]), Name of publication, Cancer Research UK.
Graphics (when reused unaltered): Credit: Cancer Research UK.
Graphics (when recreated with differences): Based on a graphic created by Cancer Research UK.

When Cancer Research UK material is used for commercial reasons, we encourage a donation to our life-saving research.
Send a cheque payable to Cancer Research UK to: Cancer Research UK, 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ or

Donate online

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.