Primary malignant brain tumor is the second most common cancer in children. To investigate factors affecting children’s survival at a population level, data of 3,169 patients (age <15 years) from the Cancer Registry in England and Wales were used. They were diagnosed during 1971–1990 and followed up until 1995. Variables including age, gender, morphology, WHO grade, tumor site, socioeconomic status, geographical region, and period of diagnosis were available for analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox hazards ratio (HR) regression. Results showed that the median survival and the 1-, 5-, and 10-year crude survival rate for this population were 8.7 years, 72.4, 54.0, and 49.2% respectively. Survival was influenced by age (HR 0.88/5 years), morphology (ependymoma HR 2.43), WHO grades (HR 1.42/grade), tumor sites (brain stem HR 2.11), and periods of diagnosis (HR 0.88/5 years). Gender, socioeconomic status, and geographical region did not affect their survival. Results from this population-based data are very helpful for comparison with other hospital-based studies and for public health purposes.

Keywords:
Brain tumor, Cancer registry, Glioma
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© 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel
2006
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