Family and personal medical history and risk of meningioma

J Neurosurg. 2011 Dec;115(6):1072-7. doi: 10.3171/2011.6.JNS11129. Epub 2011 Jul 22.

Abstract

Object: Little is known about the epidemiology of meningioma, the most frequently reported primary brain tumor in the US. The authors undertook a case-control study to examine the relationship between family and personal medical history and meningioma risk.

Methods: The authors compared the personal and first-degree family histories of 1124 patients with meningioma (age range 20-79 years) in Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, the San Francisco Bay Area, and 8 Houston counties between May 1, 2006, and February 26, 2010, and the histories of 1000 control individuals who were frequency-matched for age, sex, and geography.

Results: The patients were more likely than the controls to report a first-degree family history of meningioma (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.6-11.5), and there was an even stronger association in younger cases. The patients were less likely than controls to report immune conditions including allergy (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.7) but were more likely to report a history of thyroid cancer (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.02-21.5) or leukemia (OR 5.4, 95% CI 1.2-24.1) (most after radiotherapy). Among women, patients were more likely than controls to report hormonally related conditions--uterine fibroid tumors (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.5), endometriosis (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.5-2.1), and breast cancer (OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.8-2.3).

Conclusions: The influence of genetics, the immune system, and radiation near the head on meningioma risk is suggested in the authors' findings; the role of hormones is intriguing but requires further study.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Environmental Exposure / statistics & numerical data
  • Family Health*
  • Female
  • Geography
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medical History Taking / statistics & numerical data*
  • Meningeal Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Meningeal Neoplasms / genetics
  • Meningioma / epidemiology*
  • Meningioma / genetics
  • Middle Aged
  • Risk Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Young Adult