Being overweight may increase risk of type of brain tumor

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/aaon-bom091115.php

Public Release: 16-Sep-2015
Being overweight may increase risk of type of brain tumor
American Academy of Neurology

Being overweight or obese may be tied to an increased risk of a type of brain tumor called meningioma, according to a new meta-analysis published in the September 16, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Meningiomas occur at a rate of about five to eight cases per 100,000 people per year. The five-year survival rate for meningioma is 63 percent.

"This is an important finding since there are few known risk factors for meningioma and the ones we do know about are not things a person can change," said meta-analysis author Gundula Behrens, PhD, of the University of Regensburg in Regensburg, Germany. "Given the high prevalence of obesity and the unfavorable prognosis for this type of tumor, these findings may be relevant for strategies aimed at reducing the risk of meningioma."

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