What causes brain tumors?
A history of radiation to the brain does increase the risk of all types of primary brain tumors. This should not be a reason to avoid radiation therapy if your doctor prescribes it, since the risk of this complication is still low. In about 10% of patients there is a strong family history, implying genetic factors may have a role in this small subset of patients. Other epidemiologic studies have failed to reveal any common explanation for brain tumors, so in most cases, we have no explanation for what causes primary brain tumors in most patients. The risk of developing a specific type of brain tumor is related to age. Older patients tend to have more aggressive primary brain tumors, and younger patients tend to get less aggressive forms. However, we are noticing an increase in the frequency of the more aggressive tumors in younger patients, which may suggest that some environmental factors contribute to the formation of brain tumors.
No one knows what causes brain tumors, although research is ongoing in this area. Inherited and genetic factors may play a role. Environmental factors and viruses may also be involved. Certain risk factors may increase the chance for developing a brain tumor. Workers in oil refining, rubber manufacturing, drug manufacturing, and chemists and embalmers all have a higher incidence than average in developing brain tumors. However, at the present time, there is no clearly defined risk factor.
