Epidemiology of Gliomas

Gliomas are the most common type of primary intracranial tumors. Some glioma subtypes cause significant mortality and morbidity that are disproportionate to their relatively rare incidence. A very small proportion of glioma cases can be attributed to inherited genetic disorders. Many potential risk factors for glioma have been studied to date, but few provide explanation for the number of brain tumors identified. The most significant of these factors includes increased risk due to exposure to ionizing radiation, and decreased risk with history of allergy or atopic disease. The potential effect of exposure to cellular phones has been studied extensively, but the results remain inconclusive. Recent genomic analyses, using the genome-wide association study (GWAS) design, have identified several inherited risk variants that are associated with increased glioma risk. The following chapter provides an overview of the current state of research in the epidemiology of intracranial glioma.