Each year, nearly 20,000 people are diagnosed with brain cancer in the United States, report health officials at the National Cancer Institute. This condition, which is also known as primary brain cancer, is caused by the development of cancerous cells within the brain tissue. Symptoms such as frequent headaches, nausea or vision problems can occur if you have this disease. Brain cancer risk factors are limited and poorly understood, but you should talk with your doctor if you are concerned about developing this form of cancer.
Family History
If you have a parent, sibling or close relative who has brain cancer, you may be at an increased risk of developing this condition as well. Specific genetic disorders--such as neurofibromatosis and Li-Fraumeni syndrome--that are inherited from one or both of your parents at birth can also make you more susceptible to developing brain cancer, warn National Cancer Institute health officials.
Age or Race
As your age increases, so does your risk of developing brain cancer. Though there are specific types of brain cancer, such as medullobastomas, that predominately affect children, doctors at the Mayo Clinic report that brain tumors most frequently occur in patients over the age of 45. Your race may also play a role in your brain cancer risk: Caucasian patients are at the highest risk of developing brain cancer. The only exception is a type of brain cancer called meningioma, which predominately affects African-American patients.
Exposure to Radiation
If you were exposed to ionizing radiation--such as cancer radiation therapy--during childhood, you may be more likely to develop brain cancer than other people, reports the American Cancer Society. Patients who had leukemia as children may have received low-dose radiation to the brain in an effort to treat this disease. In these patients, brain tumors can develop within 10 to 15 years following the completion of leukemia radiation therapy. Mayo Clinic doctors report that the repeated use of cell phones or microwave ovens, which give off small amounts of radiofrequency radiation, has not been found to increase your risk of developing brain cancer.
Work Exposure to Chemicals
Repeated exposure to certain industrial chemicals may increase your brain cancer risk. Though the direct link between chemical exposure and brain cancer is unclear, doctors at the Mayo Clinic report that several studies have shown that people who work in oil refineries, health care, agriculture or electrical industries may be more likely to develop brain cancer. The American Cancer Society explains that more comprehensive research needs to be performed to better understand how chemical exposure leads to brain cancer.
