- The Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States reports an overall average annual age-adjusted incidence rate for the years 2006-2010 for primary brain and CNS tumors as 21.03 per 100,000. This leads to an estimated mortality of over 13,000 deaths per year. Although this number is small compared to other more common cancers, due to the location of CNS (brain and spinal cord) tumors, they are responsible for disproportionately high morbidity and mortality among cancer patients.