EPIDEMIOLOGY OF TUMORS OF THE CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM IN IRELAND

The incidence of cancer or the central nervous system (CNS) was establ ished for the counties of Cork and Kerry using the Southern Tumour Reg istry data base. A total or 191 newly-diagnosed patients were identifi ed over the five year period 1984-1988. This represents a crude annual incidence rate of 7.3 per 100,000 for males and 6.8 for females. When the incidence rates were adjusted using the accepted theoretical Worl d Population1, the annual rates were 6.7 and 6.4 for males and females respectively. These levels are higher than those reported for England and Wales 15.2 for males and 3.6 for females) and Scotland (5.9 for m ales and 4.2 for females). However the Irish rates are much lower than the most recent published statistics for Denmark1 which report rates or 12.9 for males and 11.8 for females. The risk of being affected by a CNS tumour increases substantially from 50 years onwards for a male and from 40 years on for females. The risk is seen to diminish for tho se aged 80 years or more. The most common locations or CNS tumours wer e the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes. Gliomas were by far the mo st common type of tumour.