Metastatic Brain Tumors

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Treatment Options
• For More Information

Overview

Metastatic brain tumors are malignancies that arise in other areas of the body, such as the lungs or breasts. Malignant cells migrate through the patient’s bloodstream from the cancer of origin and take hold in the brain. While cancers that originate in the brain are called primary tumors, metastatic cancers are referred to as secondary brain tumors.

Primary brain tumors never metastasize to other parts of the body, whereas nearly a quarter of patients with cancers in other parts of the body see their diseases migrate into metastatic brain tumors. Although the incidence of spreading varies among the different kinds of cancer, almost every type can metastasize into brain cancer – most notably lung, breast, melanoma, renal and colon cancers.

Symptoms

Common symptoms include headaches, dizziness, seizures, weakness in the extremities or problems with cognitive and motor skills.

Diagnosis

The specialist treating your original cancer will most likely consult with a neurologist or neurosurgeon as to whether the cancer has metastasized to the brain. Your neurosciences team will order an MRI or CT scan to obtain images to detect and define the presence and location of the tumor.

Treatment Options

Once the presence of metastatic brain cancer is confirmed, your treatment may involve chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Surgery may be advised to remove as much of the malignant mass as is possible. Advanced MRI scans will likely be ordered to create a “map” of your brain to guide your neurosurgeon in his approach to the tumor during Image-Guided Cranial Surgery that ensures precise and accurate procedures. A first step may be a biopsy procedure to confirm the diagnosis.

While metastatic brain cancer is serious, surgery to remove malignant tissue, with or with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, can relieve pain and other symptoms and extend a patient’s length of survival.

For More Information:

American Brain Tumor Association
www.abta.org

American Association of Neurological Surgeons
www.aans.org

National Brain Tumor Society
www.braintumor.org

National Cancer Institute
www.cancer.gov

U.S. National Library of Medicine
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus