Brain cancer is a serious form of cancer that can interfere with normal brain function. The exact cause of brain cancer is not known, though different types of brain cancer form on the various parts of the brain, structures and tissue. The biggest differentiation among brain cancers is whether the malignant brain tumor formed in the brain or spread there from another type of cancer in the body.
Primary Brain Cancer
Primary brain cancer refers to malignant brain tumors that are formed originally in the brain. Primary brain cancers, which are less common than secondary brain cancers, appear in multiple areas of the brain. Like secondary brain cancer, primary tumors can be treated with chemotherapy and radiation, as well as surgery if the tumor can be extracted safely.
Locations
The various types of primary brain cancer form on different tissues and locations in the brain. Lymphoma forms on the lymphocytes, meningioma forms on the meninges, pineal gland tumor forms on the pineal gland, pituitary adenoma forms on the surface cells of the pituitary gland, schwannoma forms on the myelin sheath of the neuron's axon, acoustic neuroma forms on the vestibulocochlear nerve and glioblastoma multiforme forms from the glial cells in the cerebrum.
Other types form on multiple areas of the brain. Astrocytoma forms on the brain stem, cerebellum, white matter and spine. Brain stem glioma forms on the different parts of the brain stem, such as the medulla, pons and midbrain. Choroid plexus papilloma forms on different ventricles located in the brain. Ependymoma forms on the ventricle membranes and the central canal of the spine.
Secondary Brain Cancer
Secondary brain cancers are metastases of another type of cancer in the body. A part of the original malignant tumor travels up the bloodstream through the lymphatic system to the brain, where the malignant cells create another tumor. If more than one tumor is located in the brain, these tumors are most likely secondary, and they are called multiple brain secondaries. The most common cancers that have metastases in the brain are skin cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer and bowel cancer.
