Statistics and prognosis for brain tumours

Doctors collect statistical information about the different types of cancer and prognosis. Prognosis is the likely outcome of your disease and treatment. In other words, your chances of getting better and how long you are likely to live.

1.About the information on this page

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 wishes 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. This page tells you about statistics and prognosis for brain tumours. You can either scroll down the page to read all the information here. Or you can click on these links to take you directly to a particular section on
Cancer statistics in general
Outcomes of brain tumour treatment
Gliomas
Astrocytomas
Gliomas in children
Oligodendroglioma
Ependymoma
Meningioma
Medulloblastoma
Pituitary tumours
Haemangioblastoma
Acoustic Neuroma
Pineal region tumours
Spinal cord tumours
Central nervous system lymphoma
How reliable are cancer statistics?
Clinical trials

2.Please note:

There are no national statistics available for different stages of cancer or treatments that people may have received. The statistics we present here are pulled together from a variety of different sources, including the opinions and experience of the experts that check each section of CancerHelp UK. We provide 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.

3.Cancer statistics in general

There is a section explaining more about the different types of cancer statistics in the CancerHelp UK section About Cancer: Cancer Statistics: Incidence, Mortality and Survival. Unless you are very familiar with medical statistics, it might help to read this before you read the statistics below.

4.Outcomes of all brain tumour treatment

With brain tumours, the likely outcome of treatment depends mainly on the
Type of tumour
Grade of the tumour cells
Position of the brain tumour
Age at diagnosis for children and for some adult brain tumours
How ill you are when you are diagnosedOverall, for all types of brain tumours at all ages, about 30 out of every 100 people diagnosed (30%) are alive a year later. About 14 out of every 100 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 those 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 nearly doubled between the 1960's and the early 90s. Now, 65 out of every 100 children 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 closely linked to 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
Medulloblastoma
Pituitary tumours
Haemangioblastoma
Acoustic neuromas
Pineal region tumours
Spinal cord tumours
Primary central nervous system lymphomas

5.Gliomas

Gliomas can be astrocytomas, ependymomas or oligodendrogliomas.

6.Astrocytomas

Astrocytomas can be slow growing (grades 1 and 2), moderately fast growing (anaplastic astrocytoma grade 3 ) or very fast growing (glioblastoma multiforme, GBM or 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 - children generally have a better outlookFewer than 1 in 3 astrocytomas can be completely removed. So, the 5 year survival rate for a low grade astrocytoma in an adult is lower than you might expect. Rates from clinical studies show that the 5 year survival rate is between 27% and 85%. In other words, up to 8 out of 10 people with a low grade astrocytoma live for at least 5 years after diagnosis. But, depending on other factors, including where the tumour is and how it responds to treatment, for some situations as few as 3 out of 10 adults live for more than 5 years after diagnosis.For moderately fast growing astrocytomas, (anaplastic astrocytoma), about half of those diagnosed (50%) live for at least 3 years. For the most aggressive grade 4 astrocytomas (glioblastoma multiforme) only about 6 out of every 100 (6%) people diagnosed live for more than 3 years.

7.Gliomas in children

These are the commonest childhood brain tumour. About 1 in 10 of all astrocytomas diagnosed is in a child.Children generally have a better outlook with low grade gliomas. This is because low grade gliomas in children don't 'transform' into a higher grade tumour, as they can in adults.If the tumour can be completely removed, 9 out of 10 (90%) children will be alive 10 years later. For low grade gliomas in the cerebral hemispheres, about 8 out of 10 children (80%) diagnosed will be alive 10 years after treatment. If a low grade glioma is on the optic nerve, the outlook can also be good, with between 6 and 9 out of 10 (60 – 90%) alive 10 years after treatment. There is a type of childhood glioma called 'diffuse pattern'. This does not have such a good outlook. Between 4 and 6 out of every 10 children diagnosed with this type of brain tumour (40 – 60%) will be alive 10 years after treatment.For the higher grade, more aggressive childhood gliomas, the outlook for younger children is better than it is in adults. For children under 3, generally, about 60 out of every 100 children (60%) diagnosed with a grade 3 or grade 4 glioma lives for at least 5 years. For older children, unfortunately the outlook is about the same as for adults, with between 20 and 40 out of every 100 diagnosed (20 - 40%) living for at least 5 years.

8.Oligodendroglioma

Oligodendrogliomas can be either low grade (called 'well differentiated') or high grade (called 'anaplastic'). They have a tendency to grow into the surrounding brain tissue. So they are difficult to completely remove. Even though they cannot always be cured, some grow so slowly that you may be well for a long time after treatment. The average length of survival for a low grade oligodendroglioma is 9 years. The average survival time for high grade is between 2 and 3 years. Do remember that these are averages. So the survival time will have been less for some and longer for others. It is not possible to tell what will happen to any one person by looking at averages. Oligodendrogliomas are very rare in children. In children with low grade oligodendrogliomas, about 8 out of 10 (80%) of those diagnosed are alive 5 years after treatment. For the more aggressive types of oligodendroglioma, the outlook is not so good.

9.Ependymoma

Ependymomas also come in 2 grades – low grade and anaplastic. There is still some debate about how grade affects the outlook of ependymoma. In general, between 5 and 8 out of every 10 people diagnosed (50 – 80%) are alive 5 years later. Ependymomas are the 3rd commonest childhood brain tumour. About half of those diagnosed are under 5 years old. Generally, about 60 out of every 100 children diagnosed under the age of 3 (60%) live for at least 5 years. Older children tend to do slightly better, with about 70 out of every 100 children diagnosed (70%) living for at least 5 years.

10.Meningioma

Over a third of all brain tumours are meningiomas. They are grouped into 3 grades – slow growing (benign low grade), intermediate grade (also called atypical) and aggressive (malignant high grade). They are usually removable. But this does depend on where they are in the brain. Like gliomas, they can grow in the brain stem and then they cannot be removed. Meningiomas are mostly of the slow growing type. If they are completely removed, over 9 out of 10 (90%) people live for more than 5 years. 8 out of 10 (80%) live for more than 10 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 treatment. About 1 in 3 (30%) of those completely removed will come back if they are not treated with radiotherapy after surgery. About half (50%) of those diagnosed with this type of brain tumour live for more than 5 years.Meningiomas are very rare in children. They tend to be related to earlier radiotherapy treatment to the head. Unfortunately this means that they tend to be more aggressive tumours. Specialists now try to avoid giving radiotherapy to very young children where at all possible.

11.Medulloblastoma

More than half of all medulloblastomas are diagnosed in children of less than 10 years old. About 1 in 5 (20%) of childhood brain tumours are medulloblastomas. The outlook for this type of brain tumour depends on whether it is classed as poor risk or good risk. A poor risk tumour.
Is not completely removable with surgery
Has spread to the brain stem, spinal cord or elsewhere in the body
Is diagnosed in a child younger than 4 years oldMedulloblastoma is also considered poor risk if cancer cells are picked up in a spinal fluid test (lumbar puncture) more than 2 weeks after surgery to remove the tumour. Of those with poor risk medulloblastomas, up to 1 in 3 (30%) live for at least 5 years with no sign of the tumour coming back. Of those with good risk medulloblastomas, up to 7 out of 10 (70%) live for at least 5 years with no sign of the tumour coming back. Overall, about 6 out of every 10 diagnosed (60%) are cured after radiotherapy to the brain and spine.

12.Pituitary tumours

Pituitary tumours are almost always benign (non-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. Small non-hormone producing pituitary tumours are unlikely to come back after surgery. More than 8 out of 10 (80%) of patients have no sign of their tumour 10 years later. With radiotherapy after surgery, the large non-hormone producing tumours are nearly all cured. Fewer than 1 in 10 (10%) of these non-hormone producing pituitary tumours 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. Treatment is successful in
85 out of 100 (85%) people with growth hormone producing pituitary tumours
Up to 3 out of 4 (75%) people with cortisone producing pituitary tumours
Up to 7 out of 10 (70%) prolactin producing tumours (although these are usually treated with drug therapy first)

13.Haemangioblastoma

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. Overall, more than 8 out of 10 (80%) of patients are well 5 years after treatment.

14.Acoustic neuroma

Acoustic neuromas are benign tumours that are nearly always curable with surgery. Radiotherapy can be used if surgery is not possible for any reason. Again, this nearly always cures the tumour. Stereotactic radiotherapy can be used for small acoustic neuromas.

15.Pineal region tumours

This is a rare group of tumours. The outlook depends mainly on the type of tumour. After 5 years, between 4 and 8 out of 10 patients (40 – 80%) are well, depending on the type of tumour they had.

16.Spinal cord tumour

Again, a number of different types of brain tumour can grow in the spine and the outlook depends on the type you have. Meningiomas, neurolemmomas and chordomas are usually growing 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, between 4 and 6 out of 10 patients (40 – 60%) are alive and free of their cancer 10 years after treatment.

17.Central nervous system lymphoma

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 quite unwell, or people who may not have the level of fitness needed 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 have developed it as a result of having AIDS, which will affect their overall prognosis.

18.How reliable are cancer statistics?

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 that 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.

19.Clinical trials

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 cancer patients. 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 by clicking on the clinical trials button to the left of your screen. You may also want to ask your specialist about any current trials that are available for your type of tumour.