Abstract
The total number of children under 15 years of age with intracranial tumours in Denmark during the years 1935-1959 was found to be 533. The average incidence was 21 new cases/10(6) children/year during the 25-year period in question, and 25/10(6) children/year during the first 17 years of Danish cancer registration. The sex ratio (290 boys to 243 girls) was not significantly different from that of the child population in Denmark. In 219 cases the tumour was located in the supratentorial and in 314 in the infratentorial space. 93% of the tumours were histologically verified, with the following order of frequency for the most usual types: astrocytomas (all grades), medulloblastomas, ependymomas, and craniopharyngiomas. Follow-up was 100%. For the 345 children who survived for more than one month after operation or diagnosis, 36% were alive after 15 years. 119 patients were alive in April 1974 and these were all observed between 15-40 years after diagnosis and operation. Of these 44 had tumours in the supratentorial and 75 in the infratentorial space. 66% of the survivors with supratentorial and 90% with infratentorial tumours led a normal life. Most of the survivors had had a cerebellar astrocytoma, a supratentorial astrocytoma, an apendymoma or oligodendroglioma, but other histological diagnoses were also represented, especially in the supratentorial group. The long-term prognosis was especially bad for children with brain-stem tumours, infratentorial ependymomas and medulloblastomas.
Highlights
Summary.-The total number of children under 15 years of age with intracranial tumours in Denmark during the years 1935-1959 was found to be 533
The frequency of brain tumours in childhood has mostly been based on materials from single departments or in reports referring to selected histological tumour types (Matson, 1969; Koos and Miller, 1971; Slooff and Slooff, 1975)
Annual incidence rates between 1 0 and 5 0 x 105 for intracranial tumours in children less than 15 years of age have been reported in cancer registration from many countries (Doll et al, 1966; Bjelke, 1970; Doll et al, 1970; Teppo et al, 1975), while other epidemiological studies have shown an annual incidence rate of 2 0-2-6 intracranial tumours per 100,000 children in various regions or countries (Bergstrand et al, 1958; Marsden and Steward, 1968; Gjerris, 1976; Schoenberg et al, 1976)
Summary
A total of 533 children aged under 15 years were registered in the files ot 5 neurosurgical departments in Denmark and in the Danish Cancer Registry (founded 1942) betwTeen the foundation of these establishments and 1959. Of these patients, 28 were discovered by Cancer Registry check and the case notes from various medical, paediatric or neurological departments. An intensive analysis revealed that 70 of these children suffered from different diseases (i.e. arterio-venous malformations, hydrocephalus, extracranial epidermoid cysts, epilepsy, enceplhalitis and many others) and 6 children, reported only by death certificates, could not be traced back to any hospital These 76 children are not included in this study. The average population of children in Denmark per year during the 25 years of study is taken from the Statistical Yearbook of Denmark (Statistisk Aarbog, 1975)
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