Malin Dollinger, MD, James Fick, MD, Michael W. McDermott, MD, and Charles B. Wilson, MD
Adapted for the Canadian edition by Normand Laperriere, MD
Primary brain tumors, those that arise in the brain itself, account for 1.7 percent of all cancers or 2,160 cases of brain tumors in Canada each year. As most of these tumors are malignant , they will cause 2.5 percent of all cancer-related deaths. They most commonly occur in the fifth and sixth decades of life but are the second most common form of cancer in childhood next to leukemia.
Tumors arising in some other part of the body may also spread to the brain (metastases). These most commonly come from cancers of the lung, breast, kidney and skin (malignant melanoma). Metastatic tumors to the brain are usually multiple, although a solitary metastasis can mimic a primary brain tumor.
Types Brain tumors can arise from many different types of cells within the brain, with tumors of the supporting cells more common than nerve cell tumors. A tumor is named for the cell from which it arises. Tumors derived from astrocytes are called astrocytomas and those from the ependymal cells are called ependymomas, for example. Tumors of the neurons include neuroblastomas, neurocytomas and ganglioneuromas. Meningiomas are tumors that originate from cells in the linings of the brain called the
