Not all brain cancers begin in the brain. Metastatic brain cancer, which is also called secondary brain cancer, occurs when cancer cells spread to the brain from a cancer somewhere else in the body.
“We see that there’s not just one tumor but there’s a number of them. And they’re scattered throughout the brain that typically represents a metastatic cancer. That’s one that has seeded the brain in a number of areas within it, from some source outside of the brain,” says Dr. Constaintine Mantz, a radiation oncologist on the medical staff of Lee Memorial Health System.
Secondary brain cancer is about ten times more common than cancer that starts in the brain. Some of the most common primary tumors to spread to the brain are lung cancer, breast cancer and malignant melanoma - or skin cancer. In nearly half of people with melanoma that has metastasized, the disease can be found in the brain.
“The brain consumes about 25% of all the oxygen that our body takes in and in order to consume that much oxygen to do all of its functioning and work its needs to have a pretty healthy blood supply. And in part it’s because that really dense blood supply that it’s a favorite place for metastasis,” says Dr. Mantz.
Cancer that has spread to the brain often reveals itself quickly with symptoms including sudden headaches, nausea, vomiting, seizures or strokes.
“A diagnosis of a metastatic cancer to the brain can impact subsequent therapies we would do for those patients that may look very different from how we treat a patient who has a primary brain tumor,” says Dr. Mantz.
The treatment options and outlook for patients with secondary brain cancer will depend on the number, size, location, and origin of the primary tumor or tumors.
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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