Prevention

The causes of high-grade glioma are not fully understood, and there is currently no clear prevention strategy. The only known cause is ionising radiation, but these cases are rare.

Risk factors

• Age (over 40 years)
• Male gender
• Race – twice as common in people of Caucasian descent
• Exposure to ionising radiation, vinyl chloride, pesticides, petroleum refining, synthetic rubber manufacturing
• Rare familial genetic syndromes such as:
  • neurofibromatosis type 1 and 2
  • Li-Fraumeni cancer syndrome
  • Turcot syndrome
  • multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1
  • Lynch syndrome
  • Gorlin syndrome
  • tuberous sclerosis complex
  • Cowden’s disease.

Screening recommendations

Screening has not been proven to be beneficial in detecting high-grade glioma.

Checklist