Risk Factors for Brain Tumors

A risk factor is something that increases your chances of getting a disease or condition.

It is possible to develop brain tumors with or without the risk factors listed below. However, the more risk factors you have, the greater your likelihood of developing brain tumors. If you have a number of risk factors, ask your doctor what you can do to reduce your risk.

There are few known risk factors for brain tumors, mostly because little is known about the causes. Some cancers that move to the brain from lung , breast , skin, and a few other sites have identifiable risk factors.

• Ionizing radiation
• CT scans during childhood
• Possibly environmental and/or industrial toxins
  • Oil refining
  • Rubber manufacturing

Older individuals are at greater risk for cancer and get more metastatic brain tumors. Metastatic brain tumors start somewhere else in the body and then spread to the brain. Brain tumors in children are one of the most common kinds of pediatric cancers.

Several uncommon hereditary diseases can predispose a person to brain tumors.

• Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome
• Li-Fraumeni syndrome
• Werner's syndrome
• Von Recklinghausen's disease
• Tuberous sclerosis
• Turcot syndrome

Lifestyle factors that can increase your risk include:

• Smoking, which increases the risk of numerous cancers that often metastasize to the brain, including lung and kidney cancer
• Sun exposure, which increases the risk of melanoma.

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Revision Information

• Reviewer: Mohei Abouzied, MD; Michael Woods, MD
• Review Date: 06/2013 -
• Update Date: 06/05/2013 -