CNS Nervous System Tumors Flashcards
primary vs secondary
primary from cells in the brain- can be totally begnign or malignant; secondary is metastatic and prognosis is grim
50% of metastatic tumors in brain originate in:
lungs
most prevelant malignant brain tumors in children/ adults
meduloblastoma/glioblastoma
most common benign cns tumor in children/adults:
pilocytic astrocytoma/meningioma in closed space, benign can still kill from icp (herniation)
cns tumors tend to:
spread within cns and never outside of cns
majority of cancer origin;
sporadic (no risk factors or known cause)
risk factors for cns tumors:
radiation and immunosuppression
theraputic radiation increases risk factors:
20 fold most commonly meningioma (possible glioblastoma) usually 10 years later
immunosuppression risk factors:
aids patients 3600 fold increase in risk for primary cns lymphoma. mostly diffuse large b-cell lymphoma; ebv is implicated in most cases
signs symptoms:
headache, seizure, ams
“mass effect”
tumor grows and has no where to go so it herniates (with edema), most often how tumors kill
where cingluate gyrus goes under falx______, where medial temporal lobe pushes under the tentorium _____, where the tonsils of the cerebellum herniate down into foramen_____
subfalcine heniration of the cingulate gyrus, transtentorial herniation of medial part of temporal lobe, transforaminal herniation of cerebellar tonsil
most often how brain tumors kill
intra-axial:
tumors that arise within parenchyma of ns (brain, sc, etc)
extra-axial:
tumors that arise in the coverings (meninges) of brain and sc
supratentorial tumors:
occur above the tentorium, include the cortex, etc, and are the most common types of adult tuors (cerebrum)
infratentorial:
occur below tentorium and encompass the cerebellum and brainstem (most pediatric tuors)
tumors are classified via:
histogenesis- tumors arise from cells intrinsic to an organ system and shows similar morphology and protein expression as the celll of origin
glial cells include:
astrocytes oligodendrocytes, give rise to gliomas
neurons and progenitor cells:
give rise to primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNETs)
tumors of nerve sheath:
schwannoma
grading is a measure of ____. the grading includes
degree of differentiation; low grade (well-differentiated) bc it resembles the cell/tissue of origin. High grade are porrlydifferentiated and no longer resembe the cell of origin- worse prognosis
graded I II III IV (better to worst)
grade I is _____, beyond is_____
benign, malignant 2 low grade, 3,4 are high grade malignancy
greater than 5 to less than a year
three characteristics often found in high grade tumors:
high mitotic activity
vascular endothelial proliferation
necrosis
most common glioma in children and adults:
astrocytomas: either diffuse (highly infiltrative) or circumscribed (minimal brain infiltration)
adults tend to get ______ astrocytomas, while children tend to get more ______
diffuse, highly infiltrative, impossible to remove fully via surgery; circumscribed, minimally infiltrative
most common brain tumor/glioma in adults:
diffuse astrocytoma, supratentorial in cerebral hemispheres
the enhanced imagine of diffuse astrocytomas:
low grade, or grade 2 are “non-enhancing” while grade 3 are somewhat contrast enhancing (patchy enhancement), and 4 are contrast enhancing “ring enhancing”(glioblastoma)
if you see a ct with blood vessels lit up on the outside and a very dull, non lit up circle, it is:
grade 2 non contrast enhancing astrocytoma
if you see bright, fine pink thread looking cells. If it histologically still looks like brain tissue but just has a few too many glal cells in it (bright pink)
you know it’s glial, it’s grade 2 because it still looks like brain tissue
astrocytoma that crosses the corpus collusum:
grade 3 or 4 high-grade diffuse astrocytoma (contrast enhancing)