Service members who experienced the worst types of head injuries — moderate, severe or penetrating traumatic brain injury, or TBI — are at higher risk for developing brain cancer, researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and elsewhere have found.
A study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open found veterans with a moderate or severe TBI were at 90% increased risk for developing a subsequent brain malignancy, while those who experienced a penetrating injury had more than three times the risk when compared with those who never suffered a brain injury.
In a piece of good news, mild TBIs — the most common type of head injury diagnosed in service members — were not associated with an increased risk of brain cancer, according to the study.
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While brain cancer is uncommon, occurring in less than 1% of the U.S. population, it is a devastating diagnosis with poor outcomes. Just over one-third of those diagnosed with a primary brain cancer tumor survive more than five years, and those with the most common form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, have just a 6% to 22% chance of living five more years, depending on the age of diagnosis, according to the National Brain Tumor Society.
Why some people develop brain cancer remains somewhat of a mystery, although exposure to ionized radiation is strongly…
