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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffThough doctors aren't sure what causes the genetic mutations that can lead to primary brain tumors, they've identified factors that may increase your risk of a brain tumor. Risk factors include:
- Your race. Brain tumors occur more frequently in whites than they do in others. One exception is meningioma, which occurs most frequently in blacks.
- Your age. Your risk of a brain tumor increases as you age. The majority of brain tumors occur in people 45 and older. However, a brain tumor can occur at any age. And certain types of brain tumors, such as medulloblastomas, occur almost exclusively in children.
- Exposure to radiation. People who have been exposed to a type of radiation called ionizing radiation have an increased risk of brain tumor. Examples of ionizing radiation include radiation therapy used to treat cancer and radiation exposure caused by atomic bombs. More-common forms of radiation, such as electromagnetic fields from power lines and radiofrequency radiation from cell phones and microwave ovens, have not been conclusively linked to brain tumors.
- Chemical exposure on the job. People working in certain industries have an increased risk of brain tumors, possibly because of the chemicals they're exposed to on the job. Studies don't always agree, but there is some evidence of an increased risk of brain tumor in certain industries, including agricultural, electrical, health care and oil refineries.
- Family history of brain tumors. A small portion of brain tumors occur in people with a family history of brain tumors or a family history of genetic syndromes that increase the risk of brain tumors.
