Association of malignant brain tumors and cancers of other sites.
OBJECTIVE
We conducted an exploratory study of brain tumors that occurred as a second primary malignancy to identify potential risk factors for brain tumors.


METHODS
Using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, we calculated the sex-specific standardized incidence ratio (SIR), adjusted to age and time period, as an estimate of the relative risk (RR) of developing a second primary brain tumor following other cancers.


RESULTS
We found an elevated RR of brain tumors after bladder cancer in both men (RR, 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 2.3) and women (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 0.8 to 3.2); this effect was present for both astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme. Elevated RRs of brain tumors were also found after sarcoma (RR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.8 to 9.0) and leukemia (RR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.8) in men, and after colorectal cancer (RR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3 to 2.4) and endometrial cancer (RR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.0 to 1.9) in women. The highest RR observed in this study was for CNS lymphoma following any first primary malignancy in men (RR, 7.9; 95% CI, 5.5 to 11.0).


CONCLUSIONS
The associations of brain tumors with bladder, colorectal, and endometrial cancers in women, and an increased occurrence of CNS lymphoma as a second malignancy in men, are new findings that have not been described previously.
School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Ahsan
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Neugut
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Bruce
D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018426:SEER Program; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000453:epidemiology; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology