Worldwide Risk Analysis of Brain Tumours in Young Adults and Adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/aabr.2026.3.1.04Keywords:
prenatal exposure, pilocytic astrocytoma, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, rhabdoid tumour, glioma.Abstract
In those under 20, the most common solid malignancies are brain tumours, which account for most of cancer-related deaths. By gathering information from institutional series, population-based studies, and case-control investigations done all throughout the world, this review examines the weight, incidence, and risk elements related with brain tumours in children and adolescents. Recent epidemiological data from countries like Finland, Canada, the United States, China, and Korea points to an annual incidence rate among young people ranging from 3.5 to 5. 1 case per 100,000, with the highest rates observed among youngsters aged 0 to 4. Among the most frequent tumour types are pilocytic astrocytoma, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, aberrant teratoid/rhabdoid tumours, and medulloblastoma. Studies show small local variations in the incidence of tumour types; germ cell tumours are somewhat more common in Asian populations and show a slight male bias. This review focuses on brain tumour in the young population it’s a subject of growing medical and public health concern, this evaluation emphasizes the essential need of continuous monitoring using national cancer registries, molecular tumour profiling and improved early detection and genetic testing initiatives. Understanding regional variances and risk factors for paediatric brain tumour patients can inform future studies, focused prevention campaigns, and improved survival and treatment outcomes. This information was gathered from reputable websites such as DOAJ (directory of open access journals), ERIC (education resources information centre), ScienceDirect, PubMed and google scholar. The diagram has taken from biorander while the graph, pie chart and flow chart are made in MS word.
References
Abedalthagafi, M., et al. (2021). Unravelling signalling mechanisms behind astrocytoma. NPJ Precision Oncology, 5, 34. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-021-00173-4
Alhalaseh, Y. N., Abdulelah, Z. A., Abu-Shanab, A., Armouti, A. O., Amarin, J. Z., Mansour, R., Sultan, H., & Al-Hussaini, M. (2021). Glioblastoma in adolescents and young adults: An age-based comparative study from Jordan over a 17-year period. Cancer Epidemiology, 73, 101948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2021.101948
Al-M., A., et al. (2023). Impact of epigenetic reprogramming on antitumor immune responses in glioma. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 133(5), 10345–10365. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI163450
Amador-Gómez, O. (2024). Li-Fraumeni syndrome: Narrative review through a case report with ten years of primary tumour remission. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms2517890
American Association for Cancer Research. (2024). Update on cancer predisposition syndromes and surveillance guidelines for childhood brain tumors. Clinical Cancer Research, 30(11), 2342–2355. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-3304
Balogun, J. A. (2021). Epidemiology of brain tumours among adolescents and young adults in Nigeria: A ten-year review (2010–2019). Neurosurgery. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34974248/
Bargello, P., et al. (2021). Germline predisposition to paediatric cancer: From next-generation sequencing to medical care. Cancers, 13(21), 5339. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13215339
Ceglia, G., et al. (2020). Cancer predisposition syndromes associated with paediatric high-grade gliomas. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8, 561487. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2020.561487
Cohen, A. R. (2022). Brain tumours in children. New England Journal of Medicine, 386(20), 1948–1958. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra2116344
Crump, C., et al. (2014). Perinatal and familial risk factors for brain tumours in childhood through young adulthood. Cancer Research, 75(3), 576–583. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-14-2285
Diwani, T. P., et al. (2017). Epidemiology, diagnosis, and optimal management of glioma in adolescents and young adults. Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, 8, 99–113. https://doi.org/10.2147/AHMT.S53391
Ehtesham, M., et al. (2007). Complex oncology signalling networks regulating brain tumour. Oncogene, 26(40), 5752–5761. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1210433
Fang, H., et al. (2021). Li-Fraumeni syndrome with central nervous system tumours in two siblings. BMC Pediatrics, 21, 3070. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-03070-8
Fathi, K. A., et al. (2023). The brain tumour segmentation challenge 2023: Focus on paediatrics. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2305.17033
Frebourg, T., et al. (2020). Guidelines for Li-Fraumeni and heritable TP53-related cancer syndromes. European Journal of Human Genetics, 28(10), 1379–1389. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41431-020-0638-4
Georgakis, M. K. (2019). Prenatal and early life risk factors for childhood brain tumors. Cancer Epidemiology, 60, 178–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2019.01.017
Ha, T. T. H., et al. (2022). Vietnam case-control study. International Journal of Cancer Epidemiology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11119488/
Hiemenz, M., et al. (2018). OncoKids: A comprehensive next-generation sequencing panel for pediatric malignancies. Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, 20(6), 765–776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoldx.2018.06.009
International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2021). WHO IARC report.
Johnson, K. J. (2021). Pediatric brain tumors: Descriptive epidemiology, risk factors, and future directions. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 30(1), 46–50. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-0563
Jorden, R. (2024). Update on cancer predisposition syndromes and surveillance guidelines for childhood brain tumours. Clinical Cancer Research, 30(11), 2342–2350. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-4033
Kule, S., et al. (2019). Family-based germline sequencing in children with cancer. Oncogene, 38, 1367–1380. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-018-0520-9
Louis, D. N., et al. (2020). Genetics of common paediatric brain tumors. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 17(1), 12–25. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-019-0296-z
Lyng, M., et al. (2022). Danish case-control study. Cancer Epidemiology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8840805/
Milne, E., et al. (2013). Pregnancy and birth factors and risk of childhood brain tumors. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24039139/
Mohammed, S. H. (2018). Genetic and environmental causes of brain tumour. MOJ Tumor Research, 1(1), 34–35. https://doi.org/10.15406/mojtr.2018.01.00006
Olsson, S., et al. (2020). Central nervous system tumors in adolescents and young adults: Epidemiological study. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32088718/
Ostrom, Q. T. (2019). Risk factors for primary brain tumors. Neuro-Oncology, 21(11), 1357–1375. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noz123
Parsons, D. W., et al. (2020). Clinically integrated sequencing alters therapy. JCO Precision Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1200/PO.19.00345
Reilly, K. M. (2008). Brain tumour susceptibility and genetic factors. Brain Pathology, 19(1), 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3639.2008.00236.x
Sait, S. F., et al. (2021). Genetic syndrome predisposition to paediatric brain tumors. Neuro-Oncology Practice, 8(4), 375–390. https://doi.org/10.1093/knop/npab012
Schneider, K. (1999). Li-Fraumeni syndrome. GeneReviews. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1311/
Seano, G., & Jain, R. K. (2020). Vessel co-option in glioblastoma. Angiogenesis, 23, 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10456-019-09691-z
Shlipak, M. G., Matsushita, K., Ärnlöv, J., et al. (2013). Cystatin C versus creatinine in kidney function. New England Journal of Medicine, 369(10), 932–943. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1214234
Shwayel, A. J., Jewad, A. M., & Abdulsattar, M. Q. (2023). Evaluation of serum cystatin-C and netrin-1. Journal of Applied Hematology, 14(3), 236–241. https://doi.org/10.4103/joah.joah_29_23
Sung, H., et al. (2021). Global cancer statistics 2020. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 71(3), 209–249. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660
Taher, A. T., Weatherall, D. J., & Cappellini, M. D. (2018). Thalassaemia. The Lancet, 391(10116), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31822-6
Taher, A. T., Weatherall, D. J., & Cappellini, M. D. (2021). Thalassaemia. The Lancet, 397(10291), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32172-5
Tanous, O., Azulay, Y., Halevy, R., et al. (2021). Renal function in β-thalassemia major patients. BMC Nephrology, 22, 418. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-021-02630-5
Wagner, M. W., et al. (2024). Brain tumour imaging in adolescents and young adults. Radiology. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.230777
Weiser, A., et al. (2023). Bridging the age gap. Frontiers in Oncology, 13, 1254645. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2023.1254645
Wu, X., et al. (2020). Li-Fraumeni syndrome-associated glioblastoma. Glioma, 3, 71–75.
Zheng, T., et al. (2015). Maternal and prenatal factors associated with CNS tumors. American Journal of Epidemiology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8129132/
