Table of Contents

Brain tumor

A brain tumor or brain tumour, is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain.

Brain tumors include all tumors inside the human skull (cranium) or in the central spinal canal. They are created by an abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, usually in the brain itself, but also in lymphatic tissue, in blood vessels, in the cranial nerves, in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary gland, or pineal gland.

see also Intracranial tumor.

Classification

Brain tumor classification.

Epidemiology

Brain tumor epidemiology.

Risk Factors

Brain tumor risk factors.

Pathophysiology

The complex pathophysiology of brain tumors is dependent on various factors, including histology, molecular and chromosomal aberration, tumor-related protein expression, primary versus secondary origin, and host factors 1) 2) 3) 4).

Molecular genetics

see Molecular genetics in brain tumor

Clinical Features

Brain Tumor Clinical Features.

Diagnosis

see Intracranial tumor diagnosis.

Volume

see Tumor volume.

Treatment

see Brain tumor treatment.

Outcome

Although brain tumors occur less frequently than other forms of cancer, they have one of the bleakest prognoses with low survival rates.

Case series

Brain tumor case series.

1)
Burger PC, Vogel FS. The brain: tumors. In: Burger PC, Vogel FS, editors. Surgical pathology of the central nervous system and its coverings. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley 1982;223–266.
2)
Burger PC, Vogel FS, Green SB, Strike TA. Glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma: pathologic criteria and prognostic implications. Cancer 1985;56:1106 –1111.
3)
Kleihues P, Sobin LH. World Health Organization classification of tumors. Cancer 2000;88:2887.
4)
Kleihues P, Ohgaki H. Phenotype vs genotype in the evolution of astrocytic brain tumors. Toxicol Pathol 2000;28:164 –170.