Brain Tumor Facts

About Brain Tumors

• A brain tumor is a cluster of abnormal cells growing in the brain.
• There are more than 120 different types of brain tumors; some are malignant (cancer), many are benign (non-cancerous).
• An estimated 62,000 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2010. 
• Primary brain tumors are those that begin in the brain and tend to stay in the brain. Metastatic brain tumors begin as a cancer elsewhere in the body and migrate, or metastasize, to the brain.
• Brain tumor prevalence refers to the total number of people who have a brain tumor. It is estimated that more than 600,000 people in the United States are living with the diagnosis of a primary brain tumor.
• Brain tumors are difficult to diagnose; their symptoms often mimic other diseases.
• Brain tumors are the leading cause of solid tumor cancer death in children under the age of 20.
• Benign or malignant, primary or metastatic, brain tumors are treatable.
• Standard treatments include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
• The cause of brain tumors is unknown.
• More knowledge about brain tumors has been gained in the last ten years than in the past hundred years.

Visit http://www.abta.org/index.cfm?contentid=12 to learn more.

current as of April, 2010