Incidence trends of adult malignant brain tumors in Finland, 1990-2016

Acta Oncol. · 2019 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 1696

Study snapshot

PublicationActa Oncol. · 2019

Study typeecological

Reported directionUnclear

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Incidence trends of adult malignant brain tumors in Finland, 1990-2016 Natukka T, Raitanen J, Haapasalo H, Auvinen A. Incidence trends of adult malignant brain tumors in Finland, 1990-2016. Acta Oncol. 2019 Jul;58(7):990-996. doi: 10.1080/0284186X.2019.1603396. Abstract Background: Several studies have reported increased incidence trends of malignant gliomas in the late 1900s with a plateau in the 2000s, but also some recent increases have been reported. The purpose of our study was to analyze incidence trends of malignant gliomas in Finland by morphology and tumor location. Material and methods: Data on 4730 malignant glioma patients were obtained from case notifications to the nationwide, population-based Finnish Cancer Registry (FCR), and less detailed data on 3590 patients up to 2016. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) and average annual percent changes (APCs) in the incidence rates were calculated by histological subtype and tumor location. Results: The incidence rate of gliomas was 7.7/100,000 in 1990-2006 and 7.3 in 2007-2016. The incidence of all gliomas combined was stable during both study periods, with no departure from linearity. In an analysis by age group, increasing incidence was found only for ages 80 years and older (1990-2006). During both study periods, incidence rates were increasing in glioblastoma and decreasing in unspecified brain tumors. In 1990-2006, rates were also increasing for anaplastic oligodendroglioma, oligoastrocytoma and unspecified malignant glioma, while decreasing for astrocytoma. As for tumor location, incidence in 1990-2006 was increasing for frontal lobe and brainstem tumors, as well as those with an unspecified location, but decreasing for the parietal lobes, cerebrum and ventricles. Conclusions: No increasing incidence trend was observed for malignant gliomas overall. An increasing incidence trend of malignant gliomas was found in the oldest age group during 1990-2006. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Excerpts A difference in incidence trends between histological types during 1990-2006 was evident (likelihood ratio test p<.001). The incidence trend of glioblastoma was slightly increasing (APC: +0.8%; 95% CI: −0.0, +1.7 for 1990- 2006 and +1.9%; 95% CI: +0.2, +3.5 for 2007-2016; Tables 2 and 3. A decreasing ASR was found for unspecified tumors of the brain (APC: −4.5%; 95% CI: −6.0, −2.9 for 1990-2006 and −6.0%; 95% CI: −8.6, −3.3 for 2007- 2016), whereas incidence of unspecified malignant glioma increased by +6.7% per year (95% CI: +2.6, +11.0)) in 1990-2006 and at a nearly identical rate in 2007-2016. Incidence of oligoastrocytoma increased in 1990-2006 (APC: +6.6%; 95% CI: +3.8, +9.5), but not any more during the later period. During the earlier study period, significant increase in ASRs was also observed for anaplastic oligodendroglioma (APC: +6.0%; 95% CI: +2.3, +9.8), while incidence trend of astrocytoma showed a decrease of −2.8% per year (95% CI: −4.4, −1.1). Incidence of anaplastic astrocytoma increased in 2007-2016 (APC: +7.3%; 95% CI: +2.2, +12.7). In addition, imputing specific histologic types (in similar proportion to those with known cell type) to unspecified tumors had no substantial effect on the incidence trends in 1990-2006 (Supplementary Table 1). We also found a difference in incidence trends between anatomic locations during 1990-2006 (likelihood ratio test p<.001). Incidence trends were increasing for the frontal lobe (APC: +1.7%; 95% CI: +0.6, +2.8), brainstem (APC: +5.8%; 95% CI: +1.7, +10.0) and unspecified locations (APC: +2.3%; 95% CI: +0.5, +4.1) (Table 4). Trends were decreasing for the parietal lobes (APC: −2.4%; 95% CI: −4.0, −0.9), cerebrum (APC: −3.5%; 95% CI: −6.2, −0.7) and ventricles (APC: −6.0%; 95% CI: −10.4, −1.4).

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeecological

Effect directionunclear

PopulationAdults with malignant glioma in Finland (Finnish Cancer Registry case notifications), 1990-2016

Sample size4730

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Overall malignant glioma incidence was stable in Finland in both 1990–2006 (ASR 7.7/100,000) and 2007–2016 (ASR 7.3/100,000), with no departure from linearity. Increasing incidence was observed only in the oldest age group (≥80 years) during 1990–2006. By subtype, glioblastoma incidence increased slightly in both periods while unspecified brain tumors decreased; several other subtype- and location-specific increases/decreases were reported.

Outcomes measured

Incidence trends of malignant gliomas (age-standardized incidence rates; average annual percent change) by histological subtype
Incidence trends by tumor location
Age-group-specific incidence trends

View raw extracted JSON

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  "study_type": "ecological",
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  },
  "population": "Adults with malignant glioma in Finland (Finnish Cancer Registry case notifications), 1990-2016",
  "sample_size": 4730,
  "outcomes": [
    "Incidence trends of malignant gliomas (age-standardized incidence rates; average annual percent change) by histological subtype",
    "Incidence trends by tumor location",
    "Age-group-specific incidence trends"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Overall malignant glioma incidence was stable in Finland in both 1990–2006 (ASR 7.7/100,000) and 2007–2016 (ASR 7.3/100,000), with no departure from linearity. Increasing incidence was observed only in the oldest age group (≥80 years) during 1990–2006. By subtype, glioblastoma incidence increased slightly in both periods while unspecified brain tumors decreased; several other subtype- and location-specific increases/decreases were reported.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "malignant glioma",
    "glioblastoma",
    "brain tumors",
    "incidence trends",
    "Finnish Cancer Registry",
    "Finland",
    "age-standardized incidence rate",
    "average annual percent change",
    "tumor location",
    "histology"
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}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1080/0284186x.2019.1603396
PubMed: Not supplied

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