Benign brain tumor survival rates
Survival rates for benign brain tumors are based on large groups of people. These rates cannot predict what will happen for each person. A person's outlook depends on the tumor type, location, size and growth rate, whether the tumor can be removed or controlled, and a person's age and overall health.
Survival rates are generally favorable for many benign brain tumors. But survival is only one part of prognosis. A benign brain tumor still can affect vision, hearing, balance, movement, thinking, memory or hormone function depending on where it grows.
The survival rates shown below are based on age groups of 0 to 14, 15 to 39, and 40 and older.
Survival rates in children
For children, five-year relative survival is high for benign brain and other central nervous system tumors. Relative survival compares people with the same type of tumor to people in the general population.
| Child age group |
5-year relative survival |
| Ages 0 to 14 |
97.5% |
Survival rates in adults
For adults, five-year relative survival varies by age group. Relative survival compares people with the same type of tumor to people in the general population.
| Adult age group |
5-year relative survival |
| Ages 15 to 39 |
98.3% |
| Ages 40 and older |
90.3% |
Survival rates by tumor location
Ten-year survival rates are reported by tumor location for all ages combined. These rates are not specific to adults or children. But these rates can still be useful because survival varies by where the tumor starts.
| Tumor location |
Related tumor type |
5-year relative survival |
10-year relative survival |
| Cerebral meninges |
Meningioma |
88.3% |
83.6% |
| Pituitary gland |
Pituitary adenoma |
96.8% |
95.2% |
| Acoustic nerve |
Acoustic neuroma, also called vestibular schwannoma |
99.5% |
99.5% |
| Craniopharyngeal duct |
Craniopharyngioma |
84.8% |
77.2% |
These are survival rates by tumor location, not by exact tumor diagnosis. The rates are based on primary benign brain and other central nervous system tumors reported in the United States from 2004 to 2021.
Some benign or low-grade brain tumor types are not listed in the table because they do not match one clear tumor-location category. Low-grade gliomas, for example, can start in different areas of the brain. Hemangioblastomas often form in the central nervous system, but the survival data do not provide a clear benign hemangioblastoma location category. For these tumors, prognosis depends on the exact tumor type, location, size and growth rate, whether the tumor can be removed or controlled, and whether it affects important brain functions.