Overview

• Researchers analyzed 151,358 adults treated within the Mass General Brigham system from 2000 to 2024, comparing patients with traumatic brain injury to age- and sex-matched controls.
• People with moderate or severe injury showed a higher malignant brain tumor prevalence of about 0.6% versus roughly 0.4% in mild injury and control groups after multi-year follow-up.
• Risk modeling indicated a 67% higher relative risk for malignant brain tumors after moderate or severe injury, which remained significant at about 57% when additional centers were included.
• Mild traumatic brain injury, including typical concussions, was not associated with increased tumor risk in this analysis.
• Authors note the absolute risk remains low, recommend closer long-term monitoring, and plan further work on mechanisms such as neuroinflammation and metabolic changes, with collaborators from Northwestern, UCSF, UT Health, and the University of Missouri.