Brain Tumor vs Brain Cancer:

All brain cancers are tumors, but not all brain tumors can be considered cancerous. Noncancerous brain tumors are called benign brain tumors. The most common traits of benign brain tumors are they typically grow slowly, have distinct borders, and rarely spread. Benign tumors can still be dangerous. They can damage and compress parts of the brain, causing severe dysfunction. Benign brain tumors located in a vital area of the brain can be life-threatening.

Malignant brain tumors are cancerous. In most cases, they grow rapidly and invade surrounding healthy brain structures. Brain cancer can be life-threatening due to the changes it causes to the vital structures of the brain.

Primary vs Metastatic Brain Tumors:

Primary brain tumors are tumors that take place in the brain. It is very unlikely that these kinds of tumors will break away and spread to other parts of the brain and spinal cord. More commonly, tumors spread to the brain from other parts of the body.

Metastatic tumors also called secondary brain tumors, are malignant tumors that originate as cancer elsewhere in the body and then spread to the brain. Metastatic brain tumors are about four times more common than primary brain tumors. They can grow rapidly, crowding or invading nearby brain tissue.

Metastatic tumors to the brain affect nearly one in four patients with cancer, or an estimated 150,000 people a year. Up to 40 percent of people with lung cancer will develop metastatic brain tumors. In the past, the outcome for patients diagnosed with these tumors was very poor, with typical survival rates of just several weeks. More sophisticated diagnostic tools, in addition to innovative surgical and radiation approaches, have helped survival rates expand up to years; and also allowed for an improved quality of life for patients following diagnosis.