Intracerebral metastases (patient information)

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Overview

A metastatic brain tumor is cancer that started in another part of the body and spread to the brain.

What causes Intracerebral metastases?

Many tumor or cancer types can spread to the brain. The most common are:

Bladder cancer Breast cancer Certain sarcomas Germ cell tumors Kidney cancer Leukemia Lung cancer Lymphoma Melanoma

Some types of cancer rarely spread to the brain, such as colon cancer and prostate cancer. In other rare cases, a tumor can spread to the brain from an unknown location. This is called cancer of unknown primary (CUP) origin.

Growing brain tumors can place pressure on nearby parts of the brain. Brain swelling due to these tumors also causes increased pressure within the skull.

Brain tumors that spread are classified based on the location of the tumor in the brain, the type of tissue involved, the original location of the tumor, and other factors. In rare cases, doctors do not know the original location. This is called cancer of unknown primary (CUP) origin.

Metastatic brain tumors occur in about one-fourth (25%) of all cancers that spread through the body. They are much more common than primary brain tumors (tumors that start in the brain).