Epidemiological study of primary intracranial tumors: a regional survey in Kumamoto Prefecture in the southern part of Japan.

This survey consists of 1117 residents of Kumamoto Prefecture who were diagnosed with primary intracranial tumors between 1989 and 1994. Age, sex, tumor type, and date of diagnosis were recorded in all cases; 79% of the diagnoses were confirmed histologically. The overall age-adjusted incidence rate was 9.47 per 100,000 population per year. Among males, the age-adjusted incidence rate was 8.24 per 100,000 per year, and the breakdown included 2.36 gliomas, 1.56 meningiomas, 1.46 pituitary tumors, and 0.99 neurinomas. Among females, the comparable overall rate was 10.7; that included a rate of 3.95 for meningiomas, 2.04 for gliomas, 2.16 for pituitary tumors, and 0.75 for neurinomas. Meningiomas were the most common tumor, with an average annual age-adjusted incidence of 2.76 per 100,000 population. The highest incidence of meniningiomas was 13.02 per 100,000 among women aged 70 to 79 years. The highest incidence of gliomas (5.71 per 100,000 males and 5.29 per 100,000 females) was seen in patients between 60 and 69 years of age. Meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, and malignant lymphomas occurred at a higher rate in females (male/female ratio: 0.39, 0.68, and 0.81, respectively). On the other hand, gliomas, neurinomas, and germ-cell tumors occurred more often in males (male/female ratio: 1.16, 1.32, and 4.29, respectively). Meningiomas and germ-cell tumors tended to exhibit gender specificity.