Brain tumor

Lore & Background

Brain tumors can cause a wide range of symptoms depending on their location and size. For example, tumors in the frontal lobe may lead to poor reasoning, personality changes, and decreased speech production, while those in the temporal lobe can affect memory, hearing, and language comprehension. Headaches due to raised intracranial pressure can be an early symptom, often worse in the morning or after vomiting, and may be accompanied by visual abnormalities. Personality changes, including inappropriate social behavior, depression, and anxiety, can result from damage to the frontal, temporal, or parietal lobes.

Reader's Guide

The cause of most brain tumors is unknown, though up to 4% of brain cancers may be caused by CT scan radiation. Uncommon risk factors include exposure to vinyl chloride, Epstein–Barr virus, ionizing radiation, and inherited syndromes such as neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, and von Hippel-Lindau Disease. Studies on mobile phone exposure have not shown a clear risk. Diagnosis typically involves medical examination, CT or MRI, and often a biopsy.

Treatment may include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy; some tumors require only monitoring. Outcomes vary widely: malignant glioblastomas usually have very poor outcomes, while benign meningiomas generally have good outcomes. Secondary brain tumors are about four times as common as primary ones, with about half of metastases originating from lung cancer.

Did You Know?

• In children younger than 15, brain tumors are second only to acute lymphoblastic leukemia as the most common form of cancer.