Moderate-to-Severe TBI Linked to Malignant Brain Tumor Risk

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.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).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)."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."Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries; one author was a named inventor on patents.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter