Introduction Despite the development of new therapies and related neurological complications, the two main considerations in patients with a history of cancer presenting with a brachial or lumbar plexopathy is neoplastic plexopathy or radiation-induced plexopathy. A focused cancer history and…
Introduction Perineural invasion (PNI) refers to a rare type of contiguous spread of neoplastic cells from their primary site along the potential space between or beneath the layers of perineurium. This entity is best described in cancers of the head…
Introduction Paraneoplastic neurological disorder (PND) syndromes are immune-mediated disorders that affect the central, peripheral, or autonomic nervous system in the setting of a cancer. These disorders are not caused by a direct tissue invasion of cancer; instead, they are associated…
Introduction to medical complications of brain tumors Patients with brain tumors are at risk of many complications from their cancer. Complications may result from direct effects of the tumor itself due to infiltration of the brain parenchyma or mass effect,…
Introduction Although neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis comprise some of the most common inherited tumor syndromes in neuro-oncology, clinicians will encounter patients with other, less common syndromes who could present with a range of neurologic and extranervous manifestations of their disease.…
Introduction Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous condition characterized by a predisposition to hamartomas in the brain, heart, kidney, skin, eye, and other organs. TSC is the second most common neurogenetic tumor syndrome affecting approximately 1 in…
Introduction Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), and schwannomatosis (SWN) are rare tumor suppressor conditions with estimated incidences of 1:3,000, 1:60,000, and 1:100,000, respectively. Although all three conditions are autosomal dominant and predispose to tumors throughout the central…
Introduction Leptomeningeal spread occurs in both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Leptomeningeal disease (LMD) for all primary cancer types portends a very poor prognosis, with survival measured in weeks if left untreated and an average of only 3.5 months with…
Introduction Brain metastases are a frequent occurrence in patients with solid malignancies. Up to 40% of patients with solid tumors will develop brain metastases at some point in their disease course, and 170,000 patients are diagnosed with brain metastases each…
Introduction Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is defined as lymphoma confined to the central nervous system (CNS) at presentation. By contrast, secondary CNS lymphoma represents a systemic lymphoma (i.e., outside the CNS) that has metastasized to the CNS (e.g.,…