Epidemiology of gliomas in Israel: a nationwide study.

BACKGROUND Glial brain tumors span a wide range of neoplasms with distinct clinical and histopathological features. This report presents the descriptive epidemiology of glial tumors by histological subtype and tumor behavior. METHODS The study population included all incident cases of glial tumors diagnosed in Israel during March 2001 to July 2003. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) were calculated using the world population as a standard. RESULTS A total of 548 tumors were diagnosed, of which 520 had histological confirmation. The ASR of all adult (>20 years) glial tumors was 5.82/100,000 (7.11 for males; 4.75 for females, p < 0.001). The majority of tumors (78%) were classified as high grade; astrocytic tumors were the most frequent (85%), with glioblastoma multiforme accounting for 70% of them. A significant positive association was shown between age at diagnosis and grade. The highest ASR was seen for Europe- and-American-born, followed by Israeli, Asian and African-born individuals (6.78, 5.86, 4.94 and 3.84/100,000, respectively). CONCLUSIONS In general, these results describing data of incident cases of pathologically validated glial tumors are consistent with previous reports. To enhance our understanding of these diseases, epidemiological studies should rely on well-defined histological tumor types, incorporating comprehensive information which will allow comparability between different groups of patients.