Fewer U.S. deaths from cancer that spread to the brain since 1999
Original title: Trends and Disparities in Mortality Due to Secondary Malignant Neoplasm of the Brain and Cerebral Meninges in the United States (1990-2020).
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 counted deaths that already happened in people. It is not a treatment you can get.
The short version
Deaths from cancer that spread to the brain have gone down overall in the United States.
What was studied. Researchers looked at U.S. death records for adults from 1999 to 2020. They counted deaths from cancer that had spread to the brain or its linings. In all, they found 358,435 such deaths.
What they found. The death rate fell from 9.65 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 7.63 in 2020. The drop was not steady. Rates fell from 1999 to 2007, then rose again from 2013 to 2017. Deaths were higher in men (8.10) than women (7.06), and higher outside big cities (9.12) than in cities (7.12).
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Fewer people are dying from this now than in 1999. But not everyone has seen the same change. Death rates were highest in men, in Non-Hispanic White adults, in the Midwest (7.98), and outside big cities. The authors say some groups may need better access to cancer care.
What it doesn't mean: This is a count of past deaths, not a new treatment or a test of one. It does not tell you what will happen to any one person. It also does not explain why the rates went up or down. It is not a cure, and it does not change the care your doctor can offer you today.
Source: PubMed, September 1, 2026 · Read the original
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