Print Overview Brain metastases Enlarge image Close Brain metastases Brain metastases Brain metastases happen when cancer begins elsewhere in the body and spreads (metastasizes) to the brain. Brain metastases occur when cancer cells spread from their original site to the brain. Any cancer can spread to the brain, but the types most likely to cause brain metastases are lung, breast, colon, kidney and melanoma. Brain metastases may form one tumor or many tumors in the brain. As the metastatic brain tumors grow, they create pressure on and change the function of surrounding brain tissue. This causes signs and symptoms, such as headache, personality changes, memory loss and seizures. Treatment for people whose cancer has spread to the brain may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy or a combination of treatments. Other treatments might be recommended in certain situations. Treatment is often focused on reducing pain and symptoms resulting from the cancer.Products & ServicesA Book: Mayo Clinic Family Health BookNewsletter: Mayo Clinic Health Letter — Digital EditionShow more products from Mayo Clinic SymptomsSigns and symptoms caused by brain metastases can vary based on the location, size and rate of growth of the metastatic tumors. Signs and symptoms of brain metastases include: Headache, sometimes with vomiting or nausea Mental changes, such as increasing memory problems Seizures Weakness or numbness on one side of the body When to see a doctorMake an appointment with your doctor if you have persistent signs and symptoms that concern you. If you've been treated for cancer in the past, tell your doctor about your medical history. Request an appointment There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Review/update the information highlighted below and resubmit the form. 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Thank you for subscribing You will receive the first brain tumor email in your inbox shortly, which will include information on treatment, diagnosis, surgery and how brain cancer teams at Mayo Clinic approach personalized care. Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry CausesBrain metastases occur when cancer cells break away from their original location. The cells may travel through the bloodstream or the lymph system and spread (metastasize) to the brain where they begin to multiply. Metastatic cancer that spreads from its original location is known by the name of the primary cancer. For example, cancer that has spread from the breast to the brain is called metastatic breast cancer, not brain cancer. Risk factorsAny type of cancer can spread to the brain, but some types of cancer are more likely to cause brain metastases, including: Lung cancer Breast cancer Colon cancer Kidney cancer Melanoma By Mayo Clinic Staff Brain metastases care at Mayo Clinic Request an appointment Diagnosis & treatment Oct. 25, 2022 Print Living with brain metastases? Connect with others like you for support and answers to your questions in the Brain Tumor support group on Mayo Clinic Connect, a patient community. Brain Tumor Discussions Meningioma: Anyone else? I'm frightened 205 Replies Sun, Nov 17, 2024 chevron-right How Have Your Glioblastoma Experiences With Temozolomide Been? 51 Replies Wed, Nov 13, 2024 chevron-right Pituitary adenoma rediagnosed: They're not sure now 12 Replies Thu, Oct 31, 2024 chevron-right See more discussions Show references AskMayoExpert. Brain metastases (adult). Mayo Clinic; 2018. Niederhuber JE, et al., eds. Brain metastases and neoplastic meningitis. In: Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Elsevier; 2020. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Sept. 23, 2020. Central nervous system cancers. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/default.aspx. Accessed Sept. 23, 2020. Metastatic cancer. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/metastatic-cancer. Accessed Sept. 24, 2020. Loeffler JS. Overview of the treatment of brain metastases. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed Sept. 24, 2020. Treatments and side effects. American Brain Tumor Association. https://www.abta.org/about-brain-tumors/treatments-sideeffects. Accessed Sept. 25, 2020. Types of complementary therapies. Cancer.Net. https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/integrative-medicine/types-complementary-therapies. Accessed Sept. 25, 2020. Le Rhun E, et al. Leptomeningeal metastases of solid cancer. Current Opinion in Neurology. 2016; doi:10.1097/WCO.0000000000000393. Rades D, et al. A new scoring tool to assess overall survival in patients with intracerebral metastases from gynecological cancers. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer. 2017; doi:10.1097/IGC.0000000000000899. Klos KJ, et al. Brain metastases. The Neurologist. 2004; doi:10.1097/01.nrl.0000106922.83090.71. O'Neill BP, et al. Brain metastatic lesions. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 1994; doi:10.1016/S0025-6196(12)61374-3. Heim JB, et al. Myosin-1E interacts with FAK proline-rich region 1 to induce fibronectin-type matrix. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2017; doi:10.1073/pnas.1614894114. Brown PD, et al. Effect of radiosurgery alone vs. radiosurgery with whole brain radiation therapy on cognitive function in patients with 1 to 3 brain metastases. JAMA. 2016; doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9839. Brown PD, et al. NCCTG N0574 (Alliance): A phase III randomized trial of whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in addition to radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with 1 to 3 brain metastases. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2015; doi:10.1200/jco.2015.33.18_suppl.lba4. Rades D, et al. A matched-pair study comparing whole-brain irradiation alone to radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy alone in patients irradiated for up to three brain metastases. BMC Cancer. 2017; doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2989-3. Rades D, et al. Prognostic factors after whole-brain radiotherapy alone for brain metastases from malignant melanoma. Anticancer Research. 2016; doi:10.21873/anticanres.11271. Crozier JA, et al. Breast cancer brain metastases: Molecular subtype, treatment and survival. Breast Disease. 2016; doi:10.3233/BD-160237. Cheville AL, et al. Nested cohort study to identify characteristics that predict near-term disablement from lung cancer brain metastases. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2017; doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2016.08.473. Warner KJ. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. June 30, 2020. Porter AB (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Oct. 23, 2020. Related Brain metastases Stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases Associated Procedures Craniotomy CT scan MRI Palliative care Positron emission tomography scan Show more associated procedures News from Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic Minute: What are brain metastases? Aug. 15, 2024, 02:55 p.m. CDT Products & Services A Book: Mayo Clinic Family Health Book Newsletter: Mayo Clinic Health Letter — Digital Edition Show more products and services from Mayo Clinic Brain metastasesSymptoms&causesDiagnosis&treatmentDoctors&departmentsCare atMayoClinic Advertisement Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. 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There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Review/update the information highlighted below and resubmit the form. Get the latest brain tumor advice from Mayo Clinic delivered in your inbox. Sign up for free and receive the latest on brain tumor treatment, diagnosis and surgery. Email address ErrorEmail field is required ErrorInclude a valid email address Address 1 Subscribe Learn more about Mayo Clinic’s use of data. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. Thank you for subscribing You will receive the first brain tumor email in your inbox shortly, which will include information on treatment, diagnosis, surgery and how brain cancer teams at Mayo Clinic approach personalized care. Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry