“Doctors will diagnose cancers of the brain or central nervous system in about 25,400 people in the United States in 2024, according to the National Cancer Institute. These cancers make up a portion of the more than 94,000 brain tumors (including benign tumors) that will occur in this country in 2024.

There are many types of brain and spinal cord tumors. The tumors result from the abnormal growth of cells and may be either benign or malignant. Benign brain and spinal cord tumors grow and press on nearby areas of the brain. Normally, they rarely spread into other tissues.

Malignant brain and spinal cord tumors are likely to grow quickly and spread into other brain tissue.

Unfortunately, when a tumor grows into or presses on an area of the brain, it may stop that part of the brain from functioning normally. Both benign and malignant brain tumors produce signs and symptoms and need treatment.

Tumors that start in the brain are called primary brain tumors. Primary brain tumors may spread to other parts of the brain or to the spine. But they rarely spread to other parts of the body.

Many tumors found in the brain actually started somewhere else in the body and spread to the brain later after found intially with cancer somewhere else in the body. These are called metastatic brain tumors, and they are more common than primary brain tumors. In fact, about half of metastatic brain tumors are from lung cancer. Even after these tumors spread to the brain, they are still called lung cancer, or wherever they originated.”.

American Association of Cancer Research (https://www.aacr.org/patients-caregivers/awareness-months/may-is-brain-cancer-awareness-month/)