Brain Cancer (cont.)

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Brain Cancer Symptoms and Signs

Not all brain tumors cause symptoms, and some (such as tumors of the pituitary gland that cause no symptoms) are found mainly after death, with the death not caused by the brain tumor. The symptoms of brain tumors are numerous and not specific to brain tumors, meaning they can be caused by many other illnesses as well. The only way to know for sure what is causing the symptoms is to undergo diagnostic testing. Early symptoms may not occur; if they do, they occur for the following reasons and are listed below:

• The symptoms are caused by the tumor pressing on or encroaching on other parts of the brain and keeping them from functioning normally.



• Some symptoms are caused by swelling in the brain primarily caused by the tumor or its surrounding inflammation.



• The symptoms of primary and metastatic brain cancers are similar in men, women, and children.

The following symptoms are most common:

• Headache



• Weakness



• Clumsiness



• Difficulty walking



• Seizures

Other nonspecific symptoms and signs include the following:

• Altered mental status: changes in concentration, memory, attention, or alertness



• Nausea, vomiting: especially early in the morning



• Abnormalities in vision (for example, double vision, loss of peripheral vision)



• Difficulty with speech



• Gradual changes in intellectual or emotional capacity

In many people, the onset of these symptoms is very gradual and may be overlooked by both the person with the brain tumor and the person's family members, even for long time periods. Occasionally, however, these symptoms appear more rapidly. In some instances, the person acts as if he or she is having a stroke. In some patients, the symptoms may be more pronounced if the cancer is located mainly in a specific brain lobe that is usually responsible for certain body functions. For example, behavioral changes may predominate in frontal-lobe cancers while difficulty with speech or movements may predominate in cancers within the parietal lobe.