Comparative Brain and Central Nervous System Tumor Incidence and Survival between the United States and Taiwan Based on Population-Based Registry

Li-Nien Chien; Haley Gittleman; Quinn T Ostrom; Kuo-Sheng Hung; Andrew E Sloan; Yi-Chen Hsieh; Carol Kruchko; Lisa R Rogers; Ye-Fan Glavin Wang; Hung-Yi Chiou; Jill S Barnholtz-Sloan

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00151

Comparative Brain and Central Nervous System Tumor Incidence and Survival between the United States and Taiwan Based on Population-Based Registry

Front Public Health. 2016 Jul 21:4:151. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00151. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ College of Management, School of Health Care Administration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Comprehensive Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, Hinsdale, IL, USA.
³ Comprehensive Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Research Center, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁴ Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁵ Comprehensive Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center , Cleveland, OH , USA.
⁷ Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁸ Comprehensive Cancer Center of Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; College of Public Health and Nutrition, School of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁹ Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA; Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, Hinsdale, IL, USA; Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Abstract

Purpose: Reasons for worldwide variability in the burden of primary malignant brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors remain unclear. This study compares the incidence and survival of malignant brain and CNS tumors by selected histologic types between the United States (US) and Taiwan.

Methods: Data from 2002 to 2010 were selected from two population-based cancer registries for primary malignant brain and CNS tumors: the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States and the Taiwan Cancer Registry. Two registries had similar process of collecting patients with malignant brain tumor, and the quality of two registries was comparative. The age-adjusted incidence rate (IR), IR ratio, and survival by histological types, age, and gender were used to study regional differences.

Results: The overall age-adjusted IRs were 5.91 per 100,000 in the US and 2.68 per 100,000 in Taiwan. The most common histologic type for both countries was glioblastoma (GBM) with a 12.9% higher proportion in the US than in Taiwan. GBM had the lowest survival rate of any histology in both countries (US 1-year survival rate = 37.5%; Taiwan 1-year survival rate = 50.3%). The second largest group was astrocytoma, excluding GBM and anaplastic astrocytoma, with the distribution being slightly higher in Taiwan than in the US.

Conclusion: Our findings revealed differences by histological type and grade of primary malignant brain and CNS tumors between two sites.

Keywords: CBTRUS; Taiwan Cancer Registry; incidence; malignant brain and central nervous system tumors; survival.