/The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours

The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours

The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours 2018-02-27T14:18:08+00:00


Brain scan showing pineal tumour before (left panel) and after (right panel) successful treatment

Gliomas arise from the glial (supporting) cells of the brain. They are not derived from the neurones (nerve cells) themselves. These are the commonest primary brain tumours.

There are three types of glioma: the commonest is the astrocytoma, followed by the ependymoma and the oligodendroglioma, each one gaining its name from the cell type from which it arose.

Gliomas are graded by their histological appearances (appearances down the microscope). Grade 1 and 2 gliomas are relatively slow growing and may have a long natural history, so much so that sometimes they are watched carefully by neurologists without proceeding to active therapy. High grade tumours: grade 3 and grade 4 gliomas (grade 4 also known as glioblastoma multiforme) are much more malevolent and require active management.

The diagnosis of a higher grade glioma may have been suggested on the MR scan as these faster growing tumours may outstrip their blood supply and this leads to a highly typical necrotic (dead) centre to the tumour as seen on scan. The biopsy or decompression specimen confirms the diagnosis. Gliomas are dangerous because of uncontrolled growth within the brain; they do not (or hardly ever) metastasise outside the brain.

Meningiomas arise from the coverings of the brain; the cell of origin is the arachnoid fibroblast. They are usually benign tumours that are cured by a radical surgical excision (or stereotactic radiation therapy e.g. gamma knife technology) in most instances.

PET scan superimposed on MRI showing active deposit of brain tumour

Pituitary tumours are of interest in that they often secrete a hormone product (the pituitary being the master controller of the endocrine/hormone system in the body): prolactin by prolactinomas, growth hormone by the acidophil adenoma that causes acromegaly and gigantism, and adrenocorticotrophin by the basophil adenoma that causes Cushing’s disease. Furthermore, they arise just under the visual pathways, where the optic nerves pass backwards from the eyes into the brain , and by pressure exerted by their growth upwards can  disturb vision (particularly vision out to the sides), and this can be the presenting symptom, particularly in the cases where there is no hormonal over-secretion.

Like meningiomas, pituitary tumours are almost invariably benign adenomas.

Craniopharyngioma is a benign overgrowth of embryonic remnants that occurs in the pituitary area, usually just above the pituitary itself; it declares itself by pressure effects e.g. on the visual pathways and with visual loss, or, in children particularly with growth disturbances due to pituitary dysfunction.

Acoustic/vestibular neuroma is a benign tumour of the sheath of usually the vestibular nerve. The vestibular nerve subserves the function of balance and runs from the brainstem to the inner ear accompanied by the highly sensitive auditory nerve which subserves hearing. The pressure of the tumour against the acoustic nerve is enough to cause gradual hearing loss and this is the method of presentation in the majority of cases.

Other cranial nerves may develop neuromas but there is a poorly understood predilection for the disease to affect the vestibular nerve and patients who have the condition neurofibromatosis are at high risk. The MR image is usually fairly characteristic of an acoustic/vestibular neuroma, although it may occasionally be mistaken on scan for a meningioma or other growths.

Other brain tumour types


This is a tumour that occurs in the cerebellum of younger patients (children more than adults) and infiltrates rather like a glioma. Additionally, it has a predisposition to shed off cancer cells into the fluid (cerebrospinal fluid or CSF) which surrounds the brain and this may lead to spread within the CSF and seed implantation and growth of metastatic disease at other sites within the brain or spinal cord. Similar tumours called: Primitive NeurEctodermal Tumours (PNET) arise in other sites in the brain and are treated as are medulloblastomas.

The treatment is surgical resection followed by radiotherapy to the whole neuraxis (the brain and all its coverings, together with the spinal cord and all its coverings). Furthermore, this tumour has been shown to be sensitive to chemotherapy and particularly to platinum based therapy. Therefore most current protocols have a chemotherapy component as well.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET)

This is a homologous tumour to the cerebellar medulloblastoma down the microscope, but occurs in the cerebral hemispheres. It also has a predisposition to spread via the CSF to other neuraxis sites and it is basically treated as for medulloblastoma viz. surgical resection followed by neuraxis radiotherapy and chemotherapy. It should be noted that ependymomas (one type of glioma vide supra) can also spread via the CSF and neuraxis radiotherapy may also be indicated here in some cases (for example high grade ependymomas of the posterior fossa).

Intracranial germ cell tumours

These are homologous with the germ cell tumours of the testis or ovary, but are malignant and need to be treated seriously (in the modern era they are usually curable). The most common site of origin is in the pineal region followed by the region above the pituitary gland (the supra-sellar region). Others can occur at other midline sites e.g. the fourth ventricle.

These tumours present due to expansive growth and compressive neurological symptoms. The diagnosis is made by biopsy or tumour markers (blood or CSF: HCG or AFP – see testicular teratoma section for explanation of these marker terms).The therapy of intracranial germ cell tumours is by chemotherapy and neuraxis radiotherapy for they too have a high tendency to spread via the CSF to other sites within the neuraxis but rarely further afield.

These tumours are exquisitely sensitive to chemotherapy based on cis-platinum and shrink quickly and dramatically with this therapy. Treatment usually commences with chemotherapy and radiotherapy follows completion of the chemotherapy programme. Surgery is usually restricted to a biopsy (if there is doubt over the diagnosis) or ‘shunt’ to overcome hydrocephalus at presentation; there may be a role for removal of a residual lump at the end of therapy, but this necessity is unusual.

The effects of chemotherapy are so profound that many are now reducing the subsequent radiotherapy dosages, although most have not yet been convinced that the cure of these tumours can be routine without radiotherapy. Tumours which are not secreting markers HCG or AFP tend to have the best outlook for cure, perhaps in excess of 80%, whereas those secreting large quantities of AFP certainly have a lesser chance of cure.

Cerebral Lymphoma

These are high grade B cell lymphomas of brain and occur spontaneously but are predisposed to in immunosuppressed patients (e.g. renal transplant recipients, AID patients etc) more frequently than the rest of the population. They present as do gliomas with which they are often confused on brain MRI scans.

The diagnosis is made by biopsy and therapy is then commenced with chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy – although the role of radiotherapy is being questioned in the age of high dose methotrexate based chemotherapy.  The tumour is highly responsive to this therapy and survivals in excess of 50% are achieved in patients without spread beyond the primary site at presentation.


These are vascular malformations within the brain and are not really brain tumours at all. However, they are of some importance as they tend to bleed and are the commonest cause of strokes in young patients. Furthermore the component blood vessels supply no blood to normal brain (i.e. they are redundant) and so surgical removal or obliteration by stereotactic radio surgery (vide supra) effects cure without depriving normal brain of oxygenated blood.


Up to 20% of all ostensibly primary brain tumours turn out to be metastases from a primary cancer outside the central nervous system. In particular primary breast, lung, renal and adrenal carcinoma and melanoma have a predisposition to spread to the brain; other primary cancers may also do so.


MRI scan of cerebellum in a patient with the rare genetic Von Hippel Lindau syndrome (right panel shows successful obliteration of largest tumour)

Exposure to ionising radiation predisposes to the later development of brain tumours in a small percentage of cases.

Whilst there are some rare genetic syndromes that predispose to brain tumours, the overwhelming majority of primary brain tumours are of a sporadic nature and, at present, the underlying cause is unknown.

The much publicised suggested risks of mobile phone use and habitat in proximity to ‘power lines’  have neither of  them been shown (in well conducted epidemiological studies) to be related to an increased incidence of brain tumours.

For the vast majority of brain tumour cases, there is no predisposing cause known and no known familial risk.


Brain scan showing a single metastasis, masquerading as a primary brain tumour

The primary tumours of the brain/central nervous system (CNS) i.e. those that originate within the brain/spinal cord, are a mixed group of tumours, some of which are benign and some are malignant, the latter carrying a high risk of death. Following some general remarks, each group will be discussed in turn.

The incidence of tumours of the central nervous system is approximately 15 per 100,000 and they account for approximately 2% of all deaths in Western society. Curiously, there is one age peak of incidence in youth (in the age range 5-10 years) and a second one in the sixth decade of life. In general, the incidence of brain tumours occurs throughout life rather than being concentrated in the elderly as for many carcinomas. For some tumours (such as germ cell tumours and medulloblastoma) there is a male preponderance of incidence, whereas for some others (e.g. meningioma) there is a female predisposition.

Of tumours presenting to a neurosurgical service in the U.K., and apparently as primary brain tumours, the breakdown by tumour types is as follows: glioma 45%, meningioma 15%, acoustic neuroma 8%, pituitary adenoma and craniopharyngioma 8%.

Metastases (i.e. secondary spread of cancer which started outside the brain – but here masquerading as primary brain tumours) appear as high as 15%-20% of ‘apparently’ primary brain tumours (i.e. at time of presentation: no evidence of a primary outside the brain even though this will ultimately be found).

Other rarer forms of primary brain tumours account for up to 10% of the total.

In the community at large, the incidence of metastatic brain disease is higher (the point here being that many cases of brain metastases are managed outside a neurosurgical unit).

Symptoms & diagnosis: Brain tumours

Brain scan showing large primary brain tumour causing headaches. Right panel after successful radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The commonest clinical presenting features of a patient presenting with a brain tumour are:

  1. Symptoms or signs of raised pressure inside the head: these are headache, vomiting and pressure signs at the backs of the eyes (papilloedema) when the doctor looks with his ophthalmoscope.
  2. Progressive loss of neurological function attributable to a progressive defect in one brain area e.g. the progressive loss of strength in one limb, progressive difficulty in speaking etc.
  3. Late onset epilepsy – either focal fits (e.g. fitting of one limb) or generalised fitting (e.g. full blown fitting with loss of consciousness, called grand mal fitting).

The reasons for these three manifestations being the common mode of presentation of brain tumours is easy to understand when we think of what is going on inside the head. As a tumour grows, the pressure goes up inside the head as this is a closed compartment – the skull is rigid and cannot allow any expansion of brain containing a swelling tumour; therefore the pressure goes up and headache and vomiting are exhibited by the patient.

When a tumour arises and grows in a particular brain area, it destroys the function of that brain area and this is why progressive loss of neurological function (which is subserved by that brain area) is noted as the condition progresses.

Lastly, any tumour growing within the brain acts as an irritable focus, disturbing the smoothly established electrical neuronal circuits; it is for this reason that epileptic fits may be manifest and be the first symptom to draw attention to the tumour.

Other special types of brain tumour manifest in their own individual ways: Thus an acoustic neuroma will manifest with progressive hearing loss on the affected side and a functioning pituitary tumour may manifest because of the over-secretion of its hormone product e.g. acromegaly when it is an acidophil adenoma (vide infra).


Brain scans showing brain tumour. Diagnosis can only be made by biopsy.

The first test ordered by the doctor is an MRI (magnetic resonance image) of the brain. This is the best form of brain imaging available today and demonstrates the tumour in the majority of cases, as well as often giving a clue as to the tumour type.

If there is a high chance that the tumour is actually a secondary tumour that has spread from a cancer that started outside the central nervous system, the doctor will search for possible primary cancer in the lungs (chest x-ray), breasts (palpation and mammography) etc. before recommending surgical attack or biopsy of the brain tumour itself. Even so, sometimes the answer on pathological exam of the surgical specimen still demonstrates that the tumour started outside the brain – ‘occult primary’.

The certain diagnosis of a brain tumour is established for sure by surgical biopsy.

Sometimes, the biopsy material is obtained and the initial treatment given all at the same operation, when the surgeon operates to remove as much tumour as possible and also sends this resected material to the laboratory for microscopic analysis. It is the microscopic of material from the tumour that gives the certain diagnosis as to exactly what kind of tumour it is.

In pituitary tumours that over-secrete hormone products and intracranial germ cell tumours that over-secrete HCG and/or AFP (see testicular cancer section for explanation of these terms) then the diagnosis may be established from serum testing together with the MR image of a brain tumour that fits the picture.


Malignant brain tumours differ from cancers at most other sites in that their malignant potential is almost exclusively due to their local infiltrative growth within the brain around the region in which they arose. Staging systems comparable to those for other cancers is therefore inappropriate.

There is only rarely metastatic disease to distant sites, although some tumours such as the medulloblastoma (germ cell tumour, primary brain lymphoma and ependymoma), may seed/spread throughout the CSF space due to the ‘shedding-off’ of tumour cells into the CSF.

The extent of the growth is assessed by MRI scanning of the brain/spine at the time of diagnosis.

Treatment and outcomes: Brain tumours

Brain arteriovenous malformation before (left panel) after (right panel) gamma knife radiosurgery showing obliteration.


The treatment of gliomas is common to all three subtypes and depends more on grade than whether the disease is an astrocytoma, ependymoma or oligodendroglioma.

The first and best therapy is a surgical debulking of as much tumour as possible, without causing irrevocable neurological damage.

The problem of normal and critical surrounding functioning brain is the reason that, complete resection of gliomas is impossible. Before taking the patient to theatre the surgeon may well wish the patient to have an initial period on potent steroid therapy. This serves to reduce the oedema (‘water-logging’) that surrounds every glioma (more so in higher grade tumours) and renders the patient in better neurological condition to undergo operation. The patient must be off any form of blood thinning therapy such as aspirin or anticoagulants.

The extent of glioma surgery will depend on the situation of the growth. For example, in the non-dominant frontal lobe (the right frontal lobe in right handed people), it is often safe to perform a major debulking operation, whereas in the middle of the dominant hemisphere such a radical debulking procedure could render the patient paralysed down his dominant right side and to the loss of speech (aphasia). The surgeon aims to remove as much of the tumour as he safely can without major risks to the patient’s recovery to status quo ante.

Following surgery the need for other therapy is discussed. In most gliomas this is a routine course of post-operative radiotherapy carefully delivered in small daily doses (as this is the kindest way to deliver radiation to high dose without harming the normal nervous system) over a period of six weeks. High grade gliomas are also treated with chemotherapy nowadays, usually by employing the orally active tablet temozolomide chemotherapy (for other chemotherapy, see further down this page).

At relapse, further surgical debulking has a selected place for patients with relatively superficially situated tumours that are causing pressure and in patients who are in good enough shape to withstand further surgery. At the time of such an operation, the surgeon may place some chemotherapy infiltrated wafers (Gliadel wafers) in the surgical cavity, specifically against the cavity walls. Subsequent chemotherapy is more complex and the drugs include BCNU/CCNU (carmustine/lomustine), irinotecan and bevacizumab (avastin).

Occasionally, low grade gliomas may be watched for a time before radiation therapy is recommended: at the time when the scan shows progression. Chemotherapy is not routinely recommended for low grade gliomas at first presentation but may have a role if later relapse occurs.

Brain scan showing acoustic neuroma before (left panel) and after (right panel) showing good response to gamma knife radiosurgery.

The outlook (prognosis) in gliomas is predictable to some extent. Younger patient in good clinical condition (i.e. no severe neurological damage due to the tumour) and lower grade tumours do well; conversely elderly patients presenting with high grade tumours and marked neurological deficit due to their disease do badly. Indeed, most grade 4 (glioblastoma multiforme) patients are dead by two years.

In younger patients of all grades, the effects of radiotherapy are more pronounced and there is a definite group of grade 3 patients who are long term survivors and an increasing proportion of the low grade patients.

In older patients, with higher grade tumours the decision for post-operative radiotherapy is taken in conjunction with the patient/family. Following radiotherapy, the patients lose some/a lot of hair and feel tired towards the end of the course.

Metastases to brain

Occasionally the surgeon will have a radical attempt to resect a known single brain metastasis, but will not risk much neurological damage to do so, as radiation therapy can take over where the surgery has stopped.

Nevertheless, where the patient is in good clinical condition (i.e. not about to succumb to cancer progression in the rest of the body) then the results of surgical removal of an ostensibly isolated brain metastasis followed by brain radiotherapy are better than radiotherapy alone. Stereotactic radiation boost *(e.g. by gamma knife) may be used if a metastasis survives the broad field radiotherapy and the patient’s general condition remains otherwise good.

For the more usual situation of multiple metastases to the brain, then wide field brain radiotherapy is recommended and stands a reasonable chance of durable control of the brain – other methods such as focal stereotactic radiosurgery* being reserved for later relapses in one or two sites and only in patients in otherwise good condition.

Meningioma and pituitary tumour

Surgery is the therapy of choice for meningiomas and for pituitary tumours (the surgical access to the latter being often via the nasal cavity (the trans-sphenoidal route) with the intention of cure. However, once again here too the operation, particularly for deep seated and small tumours is often being replaced by the non-invasive focal radiation* methods such as the gamma knife (not a knife at all but a form of non-invasive focal radiation therapy).


Similarly surgery is the first therapy for craniopharyngiomas but cure without post-operative radiotherapy is less readily achieved.

Acoustic neuroma

Surgery used to be recommended for acoustic neuromas with the intention of complete removal and cure, but in recent years the surgery has largely been replaced by focal stereotactic radiation therapy* (technique such as the gamma knife). Such focal radiation therapy has the ability to focus a high dose of radiation on the tumour, usually resulting in cessation of any further growth and sparing hearing, without the risks of surgery. Only where the tumour is very large do we now contemplate surgery.

Stereotactic radiation therapy/ radiosurgery*:

*In stereotactic focal radiation therapy/radiosurgery, the patient is immobilised in a frame which encircles the head as does an equator encircle the globe (the head in this case). The patient then has a scan and this allows three dimensional co-ordinates, longitudes and latitudes continuing the former analogy or x, y, z co-ordinates in stereotactic language, to be obtained and for the x or gamma ray beams to then be concentrated on the growth.

Such is the concentration of dose on the target region and the speed of dose ‘fall-off’ at the edge of the targeted tumour that it is possible to deliver obliteratively high single radiation doses to the tumour without over-irradiating the surrounding normal brain. The technique of stereotactic radiation therapy is becoming an increasingly important tool in the neuro-oncologist’s armamentarium.


Chemotherapy has a limited place in the treatment of most brain tumours. Following surgical debulking and radiotherapy, the two most powerful therapies have been given and the addition of chemotherapy may help somewhat but it is not as strong as radiotherapy.

Temozolomide has been shown to be active in high grade gliomas.

Irinotecan and bevacizumab/avastin is a couple of drugs showing promise, and are offered to some patients in relapse after first therapy.

Other drugs that are active against gliomas are: nitrosoureas (BCNU, CCNU and Methyl-CCNU), procarbazine and vincristine.


Brain scan showing suprasellar germ cell tumour before (left panel) and after successful treatment.

Whilst the outcome for many patients with high grade gliomas remains very uncertain, progress is being made using new surgical, radiotherapeutic and chemotherapy treatments.

For some tumours, cure is now routinely possible. Meningiomas, pituitary tumours, germ cell tumours, medulloblastomas and lymphomas are good examples of this.


Primary brain tumours are rare and a population based screening programme is not considered indicated. It would involve population based MRI brain scanning of people at intervals and the health economics and the costs and the level of anticipated co-operation from the public would not make this a viable proposition.

Questions & answers about brain tumours


  • Showing signs of increased I/C pressure, occasional blurring of vision and diplopia.
  • Severe headaches, nausea, occasional vomiting. MRI & Ct scan but no biopsy performed.
  • Treatment has been just symptomatic: Low dose Aspirin and 4mg Dexamethasone TID.
  • Patient reasonably comfortable.

Would Cyberknife be a treatment option? Other treatment plans?


A biopsy has not been performed and it may well be that surgical opinion states that this would be too risky. If a biopsy is not possible then the radiologist must be intellectually sure that this can only be a glioma – and MR spectroscopy or PET may help him there.

If the diagnosis is that of a thalamic glioma, then surgical removal does not seem possible given the extent of the disease and its position in the brain.

Therefore the treatment should be with radiotherapy.

Again, given the extent of the disease it is very unlikely that a focal technique such as Cyberknife will be appropriate and it is far more likely that a full (6 week) course of conventionally fractionated radiotherapy will be the method of treatment chosen, usually to a dose of 54 Gy in 30 fractions over the six weeks (with care and respect to dose to the optic chiasm). The technique will be, probably a three field plan (two laterals and a supero-anterior portal) but this may not be optimal and I would defer to the planning physicist. Of course, the patient would have an individually made head immobilisation mask made before the planning session.

The addition of chemotherapy would be controversial and would probably not be recommended this.


The Diagnosis was of lower grade 2 intrinsic right posterior/parietal astrocytoma with likelihood to move to grade 3 if left untreated (based upon detection of some grade 3-type blood vessel growth). The Diagnosis procedure was MRI followed by Stereotactic Biopsy.

The planned treatment is radiotherapy to halt the tumour.

A decision was made not to use surgery due to the tumour’s location above motor centre and the potential for (partial) paralysis.

  • Are there other options for treatment targeted at reducing/eliminating the tumour?
  • What are the pros and cons of each?
  • What course of action is open to the patient if she wishes to investigate the treatment options?


Surgery has been ruled out because this is deemed to be too close to the motor area. It is true that the parietal lobe is only just behind the motor strip in the frontal lobe and this may well be a good reason for not going for ‘radical debulking surgery’ first. It is worth mentioning this decision again as debulking surgery is the preferred first step in therapy if possible (i.e. without great risk of damage).

If no surgery is deemed possible (and particularly if there is evidence of some higher grade features in the histology report) then radiotherapy is the treatment of choice, and this will probably entail a 5-6 week course of treatments on consecutive weekdays. The treatment does not hurt and the patient gets up off the couch each day not having experienced the therapy. Some hair loss and tiredness usually occurs towards the end of the course.

(In some low grade gliomas it is reasonable to wait for a while until there is obvious evidence of progression on the scans; however, in this lady’s case, where there are areas of higher grade tumour in the biopsy specimen, goinging straight to radiotherapy would therefore be favoured).

There is interest in using the orally active chemotherapy (Temozolomide) drug in low grade gliomas, but this is less well established than the radiotherapy which is still the conventional approach.

In summary, the decision for radiotherapy represents best standard care at present.


Basic advice is that brain tumours are not infectious. However, further reading reveals that viruses may play a role in the development of brain tumours. If viruses do play a role then is it possible for a child to catch a brain tumour from a child who has had a brain tumour. Is there any evidence?


There is no evidence that malignant brain tumours in humans are of infective origin and there is certainly no evidence of transmissible agents (from one human to another) as causing spread of human primary brain cancers.