An Exploratory Study of the Frequency of Central Nervous System Tumors by Type in the Central Texas Military and Civilian Populations

Background: The types of central nervous system (CNS) tumors in a patient population with a history of military service were compared to the types of CNS tumors in a similar patient population without a military service history to determine if a relationship exists between military service and CNS tumor type. Methods: This study analyzed data for adult patients diagnosed with an intra- or extra-axial CNS tumor from January 2016 to July 2019. One cohort was constructed of patients who had a history of military service (MIL), and the other cohort was made of patients who did not have a history of military service (NMIL). Appropriate parametric and non-parametric analyses were used to compare frequencies of tumor types between cohorts adjusting for potential confounders. Results: We identified 2001 patients (MIL, n = 190; NMIL, n = 1811). In the MIL cohort, most patients were males, younger, and more racially diverse. In the primary analysis, the MIL cohort showed higher diagnoses of metastatic tumors compared with the NMIL cohort (X(2)(1)= 3.71, p=.05). The MIL cohort also showed lower diagnoses of meningioma compared to the NMIL cohort. There was no statically significant difference between cohorts or tumors after adjusting for primary source by gender. Conclusions: MIL experience was associated with lower diagnoses of meningioma but higher diagnoses of metastatic cancer, providing support that there may be potential differences in tumor types between patients with a history of military service and those without military history regarding primary CNS tumor frequency.