The following symptoms and complaints may indicate brain tumors:
- Change in behavior, temperament
- Aphasia (“speechlessness”)
- Apraxia – inability to perform purposeful actions.
- Respiratory disorders
- Disturbances of consciousness/alterations of consciousness
- Cephalgia (headache) – new onset; unusual; especially at night and early morning; often improves spontaneously during the day; present as the first and only symptom in only 2-8% of all patients; localization:
- Dysosmia (olfactory disorders).
- Epilepsy (seizure) [brain metastases often manifest initially as seizures].
- Gait disorders / coordination disorders
- Intellectual degradation
- Concentration disorders
- Circulatory disorders
- Fatigue / listlessness
- Nausea (nausea)/vomiting
- Paresis (paralysis)
- Visual disturbances (blurred vision, flickering, or a complete loss of vision), diplopia (double vision, double images)
- Sensory disturbances
- Speech disorders
- Vertigo (dizziness)
Local symptoms include paresis (paralysis), sensory, visual, or speech disturbances.Common brain pressure signs include:
- Cephalgia (headache).
- (Morning) nausea (nausea)/fasting vomiting.
- Papilledema (swelling (edema) at the junction of the optic nerve in the retina, which is noticeable as a protrusion of the optic disc; congestion papilla usually bilateral) with visual disturbances (see above) or
- Changes in consciousness and possibly focal or generalized seizures.
Seizures are clustered in low-malignant gliomas. Note: An indication of a malignant (malignant) brain tumor is the rapid increase in clinical symptoms and cerebrospinal fluid circulation disorder. If the symptoms occur abruptly, this may be due to tumor hemorrhage. Acute intracranial pressure signs are:
- Severe (esp.) nocturnal or morning headache.
- (morning) nausea (nausea)/fasting vomiting.
- Meningismus (neck stiffness)
- Increasing vigilance reduction (reduction in vigilance).
Chronic intracranial pressure signs include:
- Chronic headache
- Difficulty concentrating/changes of mind
- Fatigue
Brain tumors in children and adolescents
The following symptoms and complaints may indicate brain tumors in children and adolescents:
- Lethargy
- Drowsiness
- Failure to thrive
- Visual disturbances (newborns to four years of age).
- Cephalgia* (headache) (older children and young adults aged five to 24 years).
- Cerebral pressure signs such as.
- Focal neurologic symptoms (selective neurologic deficits caused by smaller, circumscribed lesions of the central nervous system; less common than the localizable symptoms listed above)
* Headache and vomiting: 50-60% of cases; decreased vigilance (alertness) is also considered an absolute “warning symptom”.
Other trademarks include:
- Anamnestic information:
- Age
- < 3-5 years → think of: Macrocephalus (head circumference > 97th percentile based on age and sex (or > 2 SD))?, Physical therapy as an indication of developmental delays?
- Headache
- Time of day: regular night headaches
- Localization: severe occipital headache (“located at the occiput”).
- Duration: less than 8 weeks
- Amplification by coughing, sneezing or pushing during defecation.
- Acute first-time headache or first-time headache of this severity.
- Age
- Neurological abnormalities
- Unclear visual field restrictions
Notice: Nearly all children with cephalgia (headache) secondary to brain tumor present with additional neurologic abnormalities. Localization-related leading symptoms in CNS tumors.
| Localization | Leading symptoms |
| Supratentorial-hemispheric tumors | Seizures and focal neurologic deficits |
| Midline tumors | Visual disturbances and hormonal deficits |
| Cerebellar tumors (cerebellar tumors). | Ataxia (disorder of movement coordination and postural innervation) |
| Brainstem tumors | Cranial nerve failures and long pathway failures |
| Spinal tumors (2-4% of CNS tumors). | Gait disorders, spinal deformities, focal motor weakness, bladder and rectal dysfunction |
