Brain and spinal cord tumors are rising across the Middle East and North Africa
Original title: Burden of CNS neoplasms in the Middle East and North Africa from 1990 to 2023, with projections to 2050: Insights from Global Burden of Disease.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This study counts cases and deaths in people. It is not a treatment.
The short version
More people in this region are living with brain and spinal cord tumors than in 1990.
What was studied. Researchers used a big global health database, the Global Burden of Disease 2023 study. They tracked new cases, total cases, and deaths from brain and spinal cord tumors in the Middle East and North Africa from 1990 to 2023. They also looked ahead to 2050.
What they found. New cases went up, and so did the number of people living with these tumors. Deaths stayed close to flat overall, but they rose in adults aged 20 years and older. Deaths went down in people younger than 20 years, and were higher in men than in women.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: This is a count of how big the problem is, not a new treatment. It points to a need for better testing, earlier diagnosis, and more brain tumor specialists in this region. If you live there, that kind of care may still be hard to get in some countries.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean your own risk went up. It is not a treatment, and it is not a promise of a cure. It will not change the care you get today. The study counts cases and deaths across whole countries, so it cannot say what will happen to one person.
Source: PubMed, October 16, 2026 · Read the original
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