Prevalence of Brain Tumor in Thailand from 2005 to 2014: Data from the National Health Security Office
Kullapat Veerasarn MD*, Saranya Yuthagovit MD*, Ancheon Chailorrat RN, MSc*
Affiliation : * Prasat Neurological Institute, Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To evaluate the prevalence of brain tumors in Thailand, using the National Health Security Office (NHSO)
database.
Material and Method: The patients admitted under the Universal coverage (UC), between 2005 and 2014 with the principal
diagnosis of brain tumors (malignant tumor ICD (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health
Problems) code C 700, 709, 710-19, 728-9, 751-3, 793; benign tumor code D 320, 329, 330-3, 337, 339, 352-4, and tumor
of uncertain behavior code D 420, 429, D 430-3, 438-9, D443-5) were selected from the database of the NHSO and analyzed
for the prevalence.
Results : A total of 93,810 admissions had claimed treatment fee from the NHSO. The prevalence of brain tumors in Thailand
from the NHSO database were 12.79/100,000 populations in the year 2005 and to 25.04/100,000 populations in the year
2014. Benign tumors were more frequent than malignant tumors (13.8 benign tumors compared to 11.9 malignant tumors per
100,000 populations in 2014). Brain and other CNS tumors accounted for 56% of the total brain tumors, followed by cerebral
metastasis and meningioma. Health region 1, in the northern part of Thailand, had the highest prevalence of brain tumors,
whereas lowest prevalence of brain tumors was observed in southern part, health region 12.
Conclusion : The prevalence of brain tumors in Thailand is gradually increasing but still low compared to other western
countries. The number of admissions was highest in the health region 1 and lowest in the health region 12.
Keywords : Prevalence, Brain tumor, National health security office, Thailand
