Trends in central nervous system cancers mortality in the United States and the underlying sociodemographic determinants, 1999–2020

Though central nervous system (CNS) cancers have become a critical health concern in the United States, a comprehensive understanding of the nationwide and group-specific trends over time is still limited. This surveillance-based study used data obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics. Age-standardised mortality trends and the Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) trends were estimated by demographic. We calculated the relative risks between various county-level socioeconomic factors and mortality for CNS cancers. CNS cancers death rates have decreased from 1999 to 2020 in the U.S., while they increased by 2% annually (AAPC, 0.2%, 95% CI [0.0% to 0.4%]) among people aged ≥65 years. The highest increase in CNS cancer was observed among Asian or Pacific Islanders (AAPC, 1.3%, 95% CI [0.8% to 2.3%]), followed by American Indian/Alaska Native individuals (AAPC, 1.2%, 95% CI [-0.3% to 3.0%]). Additionally, individuals residing in counties with greater poverty, more rural area, and lower education levels tended to have higher age-standardised mortality. There were varying degrees of increased mortality rates from CNS cancers by demographic. The strong association of CNS cancers mortality with county SES and rurality suggests that county-based public health strategies are needed to reduce this disparity in mortality.