Timeline of brain cancer

This is a timeline of brain cancer, describing especially major discoveries, advances in treatment and major organizations.

Big picture

Year/period	Key developments
19th century	First successful brain tumor removal surgery documented as performed in 1879.[1]
1920s	Electroencephalograms (EEG) in humans develop as a method to record activity in the brain.[2]
1970s	Computed tomography (CT) scanning is developed and provides first clear image of brain tumors. First promising chemotherapy for glioma is developed. Radiation is established as standard treatment for glioblastoma.[3]
1980s	Magnetic resonance imaging is introduced and gains widespread use. It eventually replaces CT scanning as the primary imaging tool for brain tumors. Gamma knife therapy is introduced for treating brain Tumors.[3]
1990s	Advances in chemotherapy and radiation increases survival for patients. Classification for brain tumors unifies into one universal system.[3]
2000s	The Cancer Genome Atlas project launches.[3]
2010s	Today, cancer immunotherapy is being actively studied.[4] Primary brain tumors occur in around 250,000 people a year globally, making up less than 2% of cancers.[5] Figures for incidence on brain cancer show predominance in more developed countries.[6]

Full timeline

Year/period	Type of event	Event	Location
1879	Achievement	Scottish surgeon William Macewen performs the first successful brain tumor removal in a young woman.[1]
1904	Development	Medulloepithelioma (a rare brain tumor thought to stem from cells of the embryonic medullary cavity) is first described by Frederick Verhoeff.[7]
1907	Development	First description of the clinical syndrome of neuroblastoma of the adrenals by English surgeon Jonathan Hutchinson. However, the pathologic interpretation of the disease is not established until several years later.[8]
1908	Development	Subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (a low-grade astrocytic brain tumor) is first described.[9]
1918	Development	Pilocytic astrocytoma (a brain tumor that occurs more often in children and young adults) is first described.[10]
1920	Development	Lhermitte–Duclos disease (rare tumor of the cerebellum) is first described by French neurologist Jacques Jean Lhermitte and P. Duclos.[11]
1925	Development	Medulloblastoma (the most common type of pediatric malignant primary brain tumor) is first described.[12]
1926	Development	Percival Bailey and Harvey Cushing introduce the term glioblastoma multiforme, based on the idea that the tumor originates from primitive precursors of glial cells (glioblasts), and the highly variable appearance due to the presence of necrosis, hemorrhage and cysts (multiform).[13]
1930	Development	Astroblastoma, a rare glial tumor, is first described.[14]
1936	Development	American neurophysiologist William Grey Walter first identifies the association between localized slow waves on electroencephalograms and tumors of the cerebral hemispheres. The term "delta waves" is introduced by Walter.[2]
1936	Development	Optic nerve sheath meningioma (a rare benign tumor of the optic nerve), is first described.[15]
1938		Gliomatosis cerebri (a rare primary brain tumor) is first described.[16]
1942	Development	Hemangiopericytoma (a tumor located in the cerebral cavity) is first characterized.[17]
1945	Development	Subependymoma (a rare form of ependymal tumor) is first described.[18]
1955	Development	Choroid plexus papilloma (a rare benign neuroepithelial intraventricular WHO grade I lesion found in the choroid plexus) is first reported.[19]
1958	Treatment	Dexamethasone is first synthesized. To date it remains the most favorable drug for brain cancer patients.[20]
1971	Development	Trilateral retinoblastoma (a malignant midline primitive neuroectodermal tumor occurring in patients with retinoblastoma) is first described.[21]
1971	Development	British company EMI develops CT scanner that provides pictures of patients brains to be seen for the first time.[22]	UK
1973	Organization	American Brain Tumor Association is founded as a nonprofit organization. It provides support services and programs to brain tumor patients and their families, and funds brain tumor research.[23]	Chicago, Illinois, US
1975	Treatment	Radiation therapy becomes standard treatment for glioblastoma, showing it extends median survival from 3 months to about 9 months in patients.[3]
1978	Development	Researchers at EMI Laboratories obtain the first Magnetic resonance imaging (MR) of a human brain.[24]	UK
1979	Development	Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma (a rare tumor located throughout the supratentorial compartment in the brain) is first described.[14]
1982	Development	Central neurocytoma (an extremely rare, ordinarily benign intraventricular brain tumour), is first described.[25]
1988	Organization	The Children's Brain Tumor Foundation is established. It funds research in brain cancer.[26][27]	New York City, US
1993	Discovery	Large analysis shows that adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy helps patients with surgically treated malignant gliomas live longer compared to radiation therapy alone.[3]
1993	Development	World Health Organization develops universal system for classifying brain tumors with aims at improving communication and translate research findings.[3]
1994	Development	The first study of the human brain at 3.0 T is published.[28]
1994	Development	US National Cancer Institute establishes brain tumor research networks for adults and children, comprising brain cancer experts from academic centers who collaborate to evaluate novel therapies against brain cancer.[3]	United States
1996	Discovery	Researchers at University of Washington find that brain cancer is related to low levels of protein MGMT.[29]	United States
1996	Development	Giant cell ependymoma (an uncommon neuroepithelial tumor located in the central nervous system) is first described.[30]
1997	Development	Researchers at Washington University first develop susceptibility weighted imaging, which can help determine the status of a tumor in the brain.[31]	US
1997	Treatment	British doctors make use of first laser system to treat brain tumors by destroying cancerous tissue.[32]	UK
1998	Development	The first study of the human brain at 8 T is published.[33]
1998	Organization	The German Brain Tumor Association (Deutsche Hirntumorhilfe) is founded. It supports research especially in the field of neurooncology.[34]	Leipzig, Germany
2001	Achievement	First successful application of retroviral replicating vectors towards transducing cell lines derived from solid tumors.[35]
2001	Organization	Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure is founded as a nonprofit organization. It awards grants to leading brain cancer researchers and partners with the medical, academic, business, and government sectors.[36][37]	Washington, DC., US
2003	Treatment	Use of chemotherapy wafer containing carmustine (BCNU) is found to delay tumor growth and improve overall survival in some patients with gliomas.[3]
2004	Treatment	International study shows that giving low doses of temozolomide at the start of the treatment proves very effective against brain cancer.[38][39]
2005	Discovery	Researchers discover that patients with tumors carrying a specific alteration in a gene MGMT benefit from temozolomide (Temodar) therapy.[3]
2005	Study	US National Cancer Institute and US National Genome Research Institute launch The Cancer Genome Atlas Project, with the goal of mapping the genetic changes involved in glioblastoma and other cancers.[3]	United States
2005	Development	Angiocentric Glioma (a tumor of the central nervous system), is described.[14]
2006	Discovery	Researchers discover distinct subtypes of astrocytoma tumors, each one with unique biological features that appear to influence the tumor's behavior and response to certain therapies.[3][40]
2008	Discovery	Researchers find that family members of patients with brain cancer, particularly astrocytoma, may inherit a higher risk of the same diagnosis.[41]
2008	Discovery	The Cancer Genome Atlas Project reports the identification of several key mutations in the ERBB2, NF1 and TP53 genes, that are involved in triggering the development and spread of glioblastoma.[3]	United States
2008	Treatment	FDA approves bevacizumab to treat glioblastoma.[3]	United States
2009	Discovery	Researchers discover that tumors with an alteration in the IDH1 or IDH2 genes are less aggressive than those without the mutation. This finding would eventually enable some patients to safely undergo less intense therapy.[3][42]
2010	Discovery	Set of nine genes is found to predict the likelihood that a glioblastoma will respond to therapy.[3]
2013	Development	Researchers develop new technique to distinguish tumors from healthy tissue in the brain, using raman scattering microscopy.[43]	US
2016	Discovery	Study finds that people with higher levels of education may be more likely to develop certain types of brain tumors.[44]	Sweden

See also

• Timeline of colorectal cancer
• Timeline of pancreatic cancer
• Timeline of kidney cancer
• Timeline of lung cancer
• Timeline of liver cancer
• Timeline of bladder cancer
• Timeline of cervical cancer

References

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