Primary tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms. They are classified according to the WHO classification of CNS tumors, which is based on the premise that each type of tumor derives from a specific cell type. We studied retrospectively 1122 patients who underwent surgery for resection of primary tumors of the central nervous system. The collected data concerned incidence and localization of tumors, blood group typing, and various risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, coronary arterial disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma, occupational exposures, smoking, and obesity. We also investigated the incidence of second primary tumours in these patients. Interestingly, astrocytomas and meningiomas became symptomatic earlier in our patient population compared with the reference population of the German Cancer Registry. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates the multifactorial genesis of cranial and spinal primary neoplasms and describes the influence of the above risk factors on a non-selected population of consecutive patients from Central Germany. |