Brain tumours Flashcards
How do they present?
Signs of raised ICP
Change in personality if frontal lobe tumour
What are features consistent with intracranial hypertension
Constant headache
Nocturnal headache
Worse on waking
Worse on coughing, straining bending forward
vomiting
papilloedema on fundoscopy
seizures
unilateral ptosis
visual field defects
Third and sixth nerve palsies
How does papilloedema appear on fundoscopy?
Blurring of optic disc margin
Elevated optic disc
Loss of venous pulsation
Engorged retinal veins
Haemorrhages around optic disc
Paton’s lines - creases/folds in the retina around the optic disc
What cells are gliomas of? What do these cells do?
Glial cells
Surround and support neurones
Include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and ependymal cells
How are gliomas graded?
1 to 4
1 - most benign
4 - malignant
What are the main three types of glioma listing from most to least malignant?
Astrocytoma (glioblastoma most common and aggressive)
Oligodendroglioma
Ependymoma
Are meningiomas usually benign or malignant?
Benign
What cancers most often spread to the brain?
Lung
Breast
Renal
Melanoma
What are acoustic neuromas?
Benign tumours of the Schwann cells surrounding the vestibulocochlear nerve
Where do acoustic neuromas occur anatomicallu?
Cerebellopontine angle
How do acoustic neuromas present?
Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss
Unilateral tinnitus
Dizziness
Sensation of fullness in the ear
Facial nerve palsy
What are bilateral acoustic neuromas associated with?
Neurofibromatosis type 2
