SECONDARY BRAIN TUMOURS

Secondary brain tumours are differentiated from primary brain tumours as they arise from another part of the body and spread to the brain. In contrast, primary brain tumours arise from the cells within the brain. They are also known as brain metastases. As they grow in the brain, they can cause all the same symptoms that were mentioned above for primary brain tumours. There can be only one metastasis, but very often there are many. The most common origins of secondary brain tumours are from lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma and kidney cancer. However, they can virtually arise from anywhere. Surgery is generally combined with other treatments such as Gamma Knife; however, decision making concerning treatment, as in all tumours, is very case-specific.