Overview

What are Brain Tumours?

A brain tumour is an abnormal growth of cells inside the skull.

Primary brain tumours are tumours which arise from the brain. They can grow from the cells of the brain, blood vessels in the brain, nerves that emerge from the brain or the membranes covering the brain. Benign (non-cancerous) brain tumours are generally slow-growing tumours. They can exert potentially damaging pressure on the brain but they do not spread into the surrounding brain tissue. Malignant (cancerous) brain tumours are rapid growing and they spread into the surrounding brain.

Secondary or metastatic brain tumours grow from cancer cells that originate from a primary cancer located in another organ (e.g. lung, breast or colon).

Both primary and secondary brain tumours can result in severe disability and can cause death if the growth is left unchecked. All patients with symptoms of a possible brain tumour should be evaluated by a neurosurgeon for diagnosis and treatment.