Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor. With an incidence rate of 3.19 per 100,000 persons in the United States and a median age of 64 years, it is uncommon in children. The incidence is 1.6 times higher in males compared to females and 2.0 times higher in Caucasians compared to Africans and Afro-Americans, with lower incidence in Asians and American Indians. GBM is commonly located in the supratentorial region (frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes) and is rarely located in cerebellum. Genetic and environmental factors have been investigated in GBM. Risk factors include prior radiotherapy, decreased susceptibility to allergy, immune factors and immune genes, as well as some single nucleotide polymorphisms detected by genomic analysis. Use of anti-inflammatory medication has been found to be protective against GBM. Survival from GBM is poor; only few patients survive 2.5 years and less than 5% of patients survive 5 years following diagnosis. Survival rates for patients with GBM have shown no notable improvement in population statistics in the last three decades. Molecular epidemiology integrates molecular technology into epidemiological studies and outcomes. The future of the epidemiology of Epidemiology of Glioblastoma 144GBM will depend on multicenter studies generating large clinical data sets of genomic data potentially leading to further understanding of the roles of genes and environment in the development of this devastating disease.

Background: There is lack of knowledge on the epidemiological characteristics of brain tumors in Middle Eastern countries. The objective of this study was to study the epidemiological features of primary brain tumors in Jordan. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study incorporating data from 16 hospitals in Jordan during a 1 year period (May 1, 2011-April 30, 2012). All primary brain tumors diagnosed in Jordan during the study period were identified. The following parameters were retrieved from patients' files: age, gender, histological type, and location. The demographic data of the country was obtained from the National Department of Statistics. Results: A total of 313 primary brain tumors were identified during the study period. The incidence of primary brain tumors in Jordan among the general population was 5.01 per 100,000 person-years (5.38 in females and 4.65 in males). The incidence in pediatric, adult, and elderly patients was 2.09, 7.29, and 14.38 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. The most common histological types were meningioma (26.2%), glioblastoma (18.9%), astrocytoma (14.1%), and pituitary adenoma (9.3%). Conclusions: The incidence of primary brain tumors in the Jordanian population is relatively low, in part due to the young age of the general population.

Jordan is an Arabic, Middle Eastern country that has recently experienced great development in healthcare and education. This development has happened in a short space of time, in a system suffering from limited infrastructure, insufficient faculty and limited research opportunity. The aim of this article is to give an overview on the history of Jordanian medical education and its current status. In this article, we discuss the infrastructures, admission system, curricula and academia of Jordanian medical schools, as well as recommending some ways forward.

No abstract