EPID-17. COMPARATIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PRIMARY BRAIN TUMORS AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS (AYA)
Abstract INTRODUCTION We utilized national registry data to evaluate the unique epidemiology of primary adolescent and young adult (AYA) brain tumors according to the WHO2016 classification. METHODS AYA patients (15≤age≤39) presenting between 2004-2017 with a brain tumor were identified by ICD-O-3 coding from the National Cancer Database (comprising >70% of newly-diagnosed cancers in the U.S.), and compared to pediatric and adult populations. Epidemiology and overall survival (estimated by Kaplan-Meier techniques and multivariable Cox regression) were assessed by WHO2016 tumor type. RESULTS 108,705 AYA brain tumor patients were identified (56.9% female), compared to 23,928 pediatric (46.8% female) and 748,272 adult (55.6% female) patients. Among the 69.4% of AYA brain tumors with pathological diagnosis, diffuse gliomas (31.4%), sellar tumors (19.2%), and meningiomas (15.3%) predominated in both sexes. Diffuse glioma (31.4%), sellar (19.2%), cranial nerve (7.3%), and mesenchymal non-meningothelial (4.1%) tumors represented a greater proportion of AYA brain tumors than in either pediatric or adult populations. A majority of all intracranial GCTs (59.2%) and neuronal & mixed neuronal-glial tumors (51.6%) presented during AYA. Although the prevalence of diffuse gliomas was similar between AYAs and adults, AYA gliomas were more likely to be grade 2-3 astrocytomas (38.9% vs 14.3%) and oligodendrogliomas (19.3% vs 4.3%) than in adults. GBMs represented 76.0% of adult diffuse gliomas vs. only 25.7% of AYA diffuse gliomas, but with a similar prevalence of MGMT promoter methylation (40.8% vs 38.4%). Notably, 50.7% of AYA PCNSLs were associated with HIV/AIDS, vs only 7.1% in adults (p< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The distribution, epidemiology, and survival outcomes of primary brain tumors in the AYA population are distinct from their pediatric and adult counterparts. Notably, AYA infiltrative gliomas were more often of lower grade than adults and AYA PCNSL were far more likely to be associated with HIV/AIDS. Primary brain tumors in AYA patients require specialized management.