title: Descriptive epidemiology of cerebral gliomas in France.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Descriptive epidemiology of cerebral gliomas has recently been the subject of several studies, indicating a possible increase in brain tumor rates, particularly in the elderly population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 1983 and 1990, 1376 registered patients with diagnoses of malignant astrocytomas, low grade astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas - mixed oligoastrocytomas, and tumors without histologic confirmation were reviewed in 6 French cancer registries. The incidence rates by histologic type, age, and gender were calculated. The variation of the incidence between 1983 and 1990 was also analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The highest incidence was observed in the malignant astrocytoma group (2.38/100,000/year) followed by the low grade astrocytoma group (0.54/100,000/year) and the oligodendroglioma - mixed oligoastrocytoma group (0.25/100,000/year). A significant male predominance was observed in the malignant astrocytoma group (male/female [M/F] ratio of 1.59; P < 0.001) and in the group without histologic confirmation (M/F ratio of 2.6; P = 0.008). Between 1983 and 1990, an increasing trend of 5% per year was observed in the incidence of malignant astrocytomas in the population older than 65 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data confirm the observation made in other countries that the incidence of primary brain tumors (particularly malignant astrocytomas) is increasing in elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U 134, Department of Neurology, Hopital de la Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fleury
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Menegoz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grosclaude
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Daures
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henry-Amar
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Raverdy
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schaffer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poisson
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Delattre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005910:Glioma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009837:Oligodendroglioma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012042:Registries