Statistics and outlook for brain tumours

• A quick guide to what's on this page
• What you need to know about the information on this page
• Cancer statistics in general
• Outcomes of all brain tumour treatment
• Gliomas
• Astrocytomas
• Gliomas in children
• Oligodendroglioma
• Ependymoma
• Meningioma
• Prinitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET)
• Pituitary tumours
• Haemangioblastoma
• Acoustic neuroma
• Pineal region tumours
• Spinal cord tumours
• Central nervous system lymphoma
• How reliable these statistics are
• Clinical trials

This page contains quite detailed information about the survival rates of different types of brain tumour. We have included it because many people have asked us for this. But not everyone who is diagnosed with a cancer wants to read this type of information. If you are not sure whether you want to know at the moment or not, then perhaps you might like to skip this page for now. You can always come back to it.

Please note: There are no national statistics available for survival for different stages of adult brain tumours or the treatments that they had. But there is slightly more information available for children. The statistics we present here are pulled together from a variety of different sources, including the opinions and experience of the experts who check each section of CancerHelp UK. We give statistics because people ask us for them. But they are only intended as a general guide and cannot be regarded as any more than that.

There is information in CancerHelp UK about the different types of cancer statistics such as: incidence, mortality and survival. Unless you are very familiar with medical statistics, it might help to read that section before you read the statistics below.

With brain tumours, the likely outcome of treatment depends mainly on the

• Type of tumour
• Grade of the tumour cells
• Position and size of the brain tumour
• Age at diagnosis for children and for some adult brain tumours
• How ill you are when you are diagnosed

Overall, for all types of brain tumours in adults, about 30 out of every 100 people diagnosed (30%) live for at least a year. About 14 out of every 100 people diagnosed (14%) live for more than 5 years after diagnosis. Just under 10 out of every 100 people diagnosed live for more than 10 years after diagnosis.

The figures are better for younger people. For people under 40, around 1 in 2 of all those diagnosed (50%) live for more than 5 years after their diagnosis. For children the survival rates more than doubled between the 1960's and the early 2000s. Now, 65 out of every 100 children (65%) diagnosed with a brain tumour live for more than 5 years after diagnosis.

Different types of brain tumours respond differently to treatment. Some respond better to radiotherapy than others, for example. Grade is one of the most important factors for some types of tumours. But for others the appearance of the cells is much less likely to predict how the tumour will respond to treatment. Generally, fast growing tumours are much more likely to come back after treatment than slow growing tumours.

Some parts of the brain are more difficult to operate on than others. Because the brain controls all the functions of the body, it is not possible to remove large parts of it or very crucial parts of it without causing major problems. Unlike other types of cancer, it isn't always possible to remove the whole tumour, together with a safety margin of healthy tissue around it. This may affect the risk of the cancer coming back.

In some situations, surgery can be life threatening in itself. If a brain tumour is growing in the nerves that control your sight (optic nerves) or in the brain stem, or is close to or surrounding major blood vessels, it may not be advisable to try to completely remove it - or even operate at all. In these situations, radiotherapy or chemotherapy may be better options for treatment. The outlook will then depend on how well the tumour responds to those treatments.

Click on these links for information about the prognosis of

• Glioma
• Meningioma
• Primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET)
• Pituitary tumours
• Haemangioblastoma
• Acoustic neuromas
• Pineal region tumours
• Spinal cord tumours
• Primary central nervous system lymphomas

Gliomas can be astrocytomas, ependymomas or oligodendrogliomas. The different types have very different oultooks.

Astrocytomas can be slow growing (grade 1), moderately fast growing (grade 2), anaplastic astrocytoma (grade 3 ) or very fast growing (glioblastoma multiforme, GBM also called grade 4 astrocytoma).

The prognosis for glioma depends on

• The grade
• Where in the brain the glioma is
• Whether the tumour can be removed surgically
• Age
• Whether it responds to radiotherapy or chemotherapy

Few astrocytomas can be completely removed. So, unfortunately adults with a low grade astrocytoma don't always do as well as you might expect. Rates from clinical studies show that between about 40 and 60 out of every 100 people diagnosed (40-60%) live for at least 5 years. This seems like a very broad range. It depends on many factors, including where the tumour is and how it responds to treatment. Low grade tumours in adults also tend to change into high grade tumours after some time.

For grade 3 astrocytomas, (anaplastic astrocytoma), about 1 in 10 people diagnosed (10%) live for at least 5 years. For the most aggressive grade 4 astrocytomas (glioblastoma multiforme) the average life expectancy is just 11 months. Less than 6 in 100 people (6%) are alive after 5 years.

More than 3 out of 10 (30%) brain tumours in children are gliomas. Gliomas in children behave very differently from adults though. Most childhood gliomas are pilocytic gliomas which are classed as grade 1 tumours, and seen as benign. Most of them are found in the cerebellum (the back part of the brain). If the tumour can be completely removed, about 96 out of 100 children (96%) will live for at least 5 years.

Gliomas may occur in the optic nerve, and these are different to other gliomas. They occur often in people who have a particular genetic syndrome called neurofibromatosis 1 or neurofibromatosis 2. The outlook with optic nerve gliomas is very good and nearly everyone diagnosed (100%) will live for at least 6 years.

There is a type of childhood glioma called 'diffuse pattern'. This type does not have such a good outlook. About 48 out of every 100 children diagnosed with this type of brain tumour (48%) will live for at least 5 years after treatment.

For higher grade childhood gliomas, the outlook for babies younger than a year is unfortunately very poor. But for children older than one year, the outlook is better than for adults, and about 73 out of every 100 children (73%) diagnosed with a grade 2 or grade 3 glioma live for at least 5 years. For the most aggressive grade 4 tumour, called glioblastoma, the outlook is not so good. Only about 20 in 100 children diagnosed with glioblastoma will live for 5 years.

For older children with glioma, unfortunately the outlook is about the same as it is for adults.

Oligodendrogliomas can be either grade 2 or high grade (called 'anaplastic'). They have a tendency to grow into the surrounding brain tissue and so cannot be completely removed. Some grow so slowly that you may be well for a long time after treatment. About 66 to 78 out of 100 people (66-78%) with a grade 2 oligodendroglioma live for at least 5 years. For grade 3 oligodendroglioma 30 to 38 people in 100 (30-38%) will live for at least 5 years. Do remember that everyone's case is different. These figures just give you an idea of how many people, on average, will live for at least 5 years with this disease. Oligodendrogliomas are rare in children but, as with other brain tumours, they tend to do slightly better than adults.

Ependymomas also come in 3 grades - 1 to 3. Grade 3 is known as anaplastic. There is still some debate about how grade affects the outlook of ependymoma. In general, around half the people diagnosed (50%) are alive 5 years later. . On average, people with low grade ependymoma will live for about 10 years after surgery. People with high grade ependymoma will live for about 2 to 3 years on average.

Ependymomas are the third most common childhood brain tumour. About half the children diagnosed are under 5 years old. Generally, about 57 out 100 children (57%)diagnosed with ependymoma live for at least 5 years. Older children tend to do slightly better than younger ones.

About a quarter (25%) of all brain tumours are meningiomas. They are grouped into 3 grades - slow growing (benign low grade), intermediate grade (atypical or grade 2) and aggressive (malignant high grade). It is usually possible to remove these tumours. But this depends on where they are in the brain.

Meningiomas are mostly of the slow growing type. 8 out of 10 (80%) people with this type of meningioma will live for more than 5 years. Even if a slow growing meningioma cannot be completely removed, it may be controlled for a long time.

High grade, malignant meningiomas are more likely to come back after surgery and doctors prefer you to also have radiotherapy for grade 2 and 3 tumours. About a third of those completely removed will come back if they are not treated with radiotherapy after surgery. Less than 6 out of 10 (60%) people with a high grade meningioma will live for more than 5 years.

Meningiomas are rare in children. They may occur in children who have neurofibomatosis and tend to start in the lining of the fluid filled spaces in the brain. Unfortunately they tend to be more aggressive tumours. Treatment aims to remove the whole tumour and doctors may suggest radiotherapy as well for grade 3 tumours.

Medulloblastoma is the most common type of PNET. More than half of all PNETs are diagnosed in children less than 10 years old. About 20 to 25 in 100 (20-25%) childhood brain tumours are PNETs. The outlook for this type of brain tumour depends on whether it

• Can be completely removed with surgery
• Has spread to the brain stem, spinal cord or elsewhere in the body
• Is low or high grade
• Has features in the cells that make it dificult to treat

About 57 out of 100 people (57%) diagnosed with a PNET will live for more than 5 years If the tumour has not spread, can be completely removed and is low grade, then the chances of surviving 5 years without the tumour coming back will be higher. If the tumour has spread or is high grade, the outlook is not so good.

Pituitary tumours are almost always benign (not cancerous). Some give out hormones and some don’t. The outlook is usually good for these tumours, but it is slightly better for the type that does not give out hormones. About 82 out of 100 people (82%) will be alive 5 years after diagnosis.

Small non hormone producing pituitary tumours are unlikely to come back after surgery. With radiotherapy after surgery, the large non hormone producing tumours are nearly all cured. Very few will come back after treatment.

The hormone producing tumours are more difficult to control, but still have a good prognosis. The difficulty is more in controlling the hormones that the tumour produces.

Haemangioblastomas are very slow growing tumours that generally have a good outlook. But this depends on where in the brain the haemangioblastoma is. The outlook is better if the tumour is removable with surgery.

Acoustic neuromas are benign tumours that are nearly always curable. Surgery is the usual treatment but radiotherapy (usually stereotactic radiotherapy) may be used if the tumour is small.

This is a rare group of tumours. The outlook depends mainly on the type of tumour. After 5 years, about 65 out of 100 people diagnosed (65%) are alive 5 years after treatment, depending on the type of pineal tumour they had.

A number of different types of tumour can grow in the spine and the outlook depends on the type you have. Meningiomas, neurolemmomas and chordomas usually grow on the outside of the spinal cord and so are removable. Other types, growing into the cord itself may not be able to be taken out and so need radiotherapy after surgery. Overall, about 73 out of 100 people diagnosed (40 to 60%) are alive 5 years after treatment.

This is a rare condition. Fewer than 1 in 20 brain tumours (5%) is a primary CNS lymphoma. Unfortunately it can be very difficult to treat. In relatively well patients, it is usually first treated with chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy. In patients who are unwell, or not fit enough to get through the chemotherapy, it may be treated with radiotherapy to the whole brain. Survival rates are beginning to improve as more research is done using chemotherapy to treat these tumours. Some patients with this type of brain tumour develop it as a result of having AIDS, which can make it more difficult to treat effectively. The average life expectancy for someone diagnosed with primary CNS lymphoma is 12 to 18 months.

No statistics can tell you what will happen to you. Your cancer is unique. The same type of cancer can grow at different rates in different people for example. Statistics apply to large groups of people and not to individuals. No statistics include all the patients with a particular type of tumour. They will refer to a group of patients that have been studied in a particular clinical trial or research paper.

The statistics are not detailed enough to tell you about the different treatments people may have had. New chemotherapy drugs and new ways of delivering chemotherapy to the brain may help people to live longer, as well as relieving symptoms. There are many individual factors that will determine your treatment and prognosis. If you are fit enough to have treatment, you are likely to do better than average.

Clinical trials are gradually improving treatment for many types of cancer by scientifically comparing treatments. This way, we can find out which treatments are best in an unbiased way. Trials have had a major impact on adult and childhood cancers over the past 25 years.

People who take part in clinical trials tend to do better. No one is completely sure why this is. It may be because people in trials will either be having a new and possibly successful treatment. Or they will be having the best standard treatment that is available. They are being treated in specialist cancer centres, because that is where trials are carried out. And that means a whole team of doctors, nurses and other supporting healthcare staff who are experienced at treating and working with people with cancer.

It may also be something to do with morale. You may feel more positive if you are taking part in a trial because it is more obvious to you that something is being done to help you. There is information explaining clinical trials in CancerHelp UK. And you can look at our searchable clinical trials database to find trials for people with brain tumours. You may also want to ask your specialist about any current trials that are available for your type of brain tumour.