Moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury group had significantly higher risk for developing malignant brain tumors versus mild TBI group<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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FRIDAY, Sept. 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A history of moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with an increased risk for developing malignant brain tumors, according to a study published online Aug. 25 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sandro Marini, M.D., from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from a tertiary academic medical center (Mass General Brigham) to examine whether the history of TBI in U.S. adult civilians is associated with a risk for subsequent development of malignant brain tumors. Adults with mild TBI or moderate-to-severe TBI (exposure group; 75,679 participants) were compared to an age- and sex-matched group without TBI history (control group; 75,679 participants).<\/p>\n Of the civilians with TBI, 60,735 and 14,944 had mild TBI and moderate-to-severe TBI, respectively. The median duration of follow-up was 7.2 years. The researchers found that the prevalence of malignant brain tumors was 0.6 and 0.4 percent in the moderate-to-severe TBI group and the control and mild TBI groups, respectively. The risk for developing malignant brain tumors was significantly higher for the moderate-to-severe TBI group (hazard ratio, 1.67) versus the mild TBI group. When these data were meta-analyzed with data from two other centers (University of California Health and Northwestern Medicine), the risk persisted (hazard ratio, 1.57).<\/p>\n “While there is an increased risk of tumor from TBI, the overall risk remains low. Still, brain tumor is a devastating disease and often gets detected in later stages,” Marini said in a statement. “Now, we’ve opened the door to monitor TBI patients more closely.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries; one author was a named inventor on patents.<\/p>\n