Brain Tumor

The American Cancer Society estimates that 18,300 Americans will be diagnosed with malignant brain, spinal cord and other nervous system tumors in 2003. Approximately 13,100 people in the United States will die from brain, spinal cord, and other nervous system tumors in 2003. Brain and spinal cord tumors occur most often in children younger than 10 years of age, whereas in adults, these tumors are most common in the third to fifth decades of life. Overall (in adults and children), malignant brain tumors account for about 1% of all cancers and 2% of all cancer-related deaths. Malignant brain and spinal cord tumors, the second most common cancers affecting children, account for 21% of malignant childhood tumors. Neuroblastoma, also a nerve cell tumor, i...