A risk factor is something that raises the chances of getting a health problem. A person can get brain tumors with or without the risks listed below. The chances of getting brain tumors are greater in people who have many.

Brain tumors are more common in older adults. The risk of some tumors also changes with the tumor type. Meningioma is the most common type found in adults. It is also more common in women and Black people.

Other things that can raise the risk of a brain tumor are:

• Radiation exposure to the nervous system from:
  • Cancer treatment
  • X-rays or CT scans
• Working in oil refining or rubber manufacturing
• Having a rare inherited disease such as:
  • Neurofibromatosis type 1 and type 2
  • Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome
  • Li-Fraumeni syndrome
  • Werner's syndrome
  • Von Recklinghausen disease
  • Turcot syndrome
  • Lynch syndrome
• Cancer from other sites in the body can spread to the brain and the fluid surrounding the nervous system— Lung cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma are the ones that are most likely to do this
• Having a parent, brother, or sister who had or has a brain tumor raises the risk of some types of brain tumors