Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Brain metastasis
Summary
A brain metastasis is a cancer that has metastasized (spread) to the brain from another location in the body and is therefore considered a secondary brain tumor. The metastasis typically shares a cancer cell type with the original site of the cancer. Metastasis is the most common cause of brain cancer, as primary tumors that originate in the brain are less common. The most common sites of primary cancer which metastasize to the brain are lung, breast, colon, kidney, and skin cancer. Brain metastases can occur in patients months or even years after their original cancer is treated. Brain metastases have a poor prognosis for cure, but modern treatments are allowing patients to live months and sometimes years after the diagnosis.
Because different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions, symptoms vary depending on the site of metastasis within the brain. However, brain metastases should be considered in any cancer patient who presents with neurological or behavioral changes.
Brain metastases can cause a wide variety of symptoms which can also be present in minor, more common conditions. Neurological symptoms are often caused by increased intracranial pressure, with severe cases resulting in coma. The most common neurological symptoms include:
New onset headaches: headaches occur in roughly half of brain metastasis patients, especially in those with many tumors.
Paresthesias: patients often present with (hemiparesis), or weakness on only one side of the body, which is often a result of damage to neighboring brain tissue.
Ataxia: when metastasis occurs to the cerebellum, patients will experience various difficulties with spatial awareness and coordination.
Seizures: when present, often indicates disease involvement of the cerebral cortex.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (4)
BIO-684: Hot Topics in Cancer Research
(1) To expose PhD students to cutting-edge research in the field of Cancer Research through attendance of lectures given by world-leading distinguished scientists in the field.
BIO-472: Cancer biology II
The course covers in detail the interactions of cancer cells with their environment with an emphasis on tumor-angiogenesis, inflammation, adaptive and innate immunity and cancer-induced immune suppres
BIO-392: Oncology
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the biology of cancer, illustrating the mechanisms that cancer cells use to grow and disseminate at the expense of normal tissues and organs.