BRAIN CANCER INCIDENCE, MORTALITY AND CASE SURVIVAL - OBSERVATIONS FROM 2 AUSTRALIAN CANCER REGISTRIES

Data from 2 Australian cancer registries covering a population of 1.7 million people were combined for the purposes of analysing brain cance r incidence, mortality and survival patterns for the time period 1978 through 1992. A total of 1,752 cases of primary brain cancer were regi stered, representing age-standardised incidence rates of 6.7 per 100,0 00 in men and 4.6 in women. Histological confirmation was available fo r 94% of cases. The incidence rate among persons aged 75 or over was h igher during 1986-1992 than during 1978-1985, the rate for men increas ing from 16.3 to 26.2 and that for women increasing from 9.7 to 18.0. The largest increases in this age group occurred for cases of glioblas toma multiforme. During the study period, 1,411 brain cancer deaths we re notified to the 2 registries at age-standardised rates of 5.3 in me n and 3.4 in women. Mortality rates among persons aged 75 years or old er were higher during 1986-1992 than 1978-1985, increasing from 15.7 t o 28.4 in men and from 10.1 to 15.3 in women. Only among men aged 15-4 9 years was a decline in mortality rates observed, from 3.3 to 2.4. Su rvival analyses indicated that age and histological type were the most powerful prognostic indicators. There was no improvement in 5-year su rvival for any of the age groups or histological types. An improvement in 36-month survival was noted for the 15-49 year age group diagnosed with gliomas other than glioblastoma multiforme. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.