Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow They Cause SeizuresTypesSigns and SymptomsTreatmentFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How They Cause Seizures
Types
Signs and Symptoms
Treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
Not all people with abrain tumorexperience abnormal electrical activity in their brain known as seizures. But for those who do, a seizure is often the first symptom of the disease—and what jump-starts the process that leads totumor diagnosis.The type of brain tumor and its location factor into why some people are more vulnerable to experiencing related seizures than others.
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Seizures can be frequent and continue throughout treatment for a brain tumor and can, among other things, compromise your independence and overall quality of life. In some cases, seizures can pose additional—and significant—health dangers.
Seizures are often the first clinicalsign of a brain tumor. Headaches are common with brain tumors, but studies show that it is actually a seizure or other neurological symptom that usually appears first.
How Brain Tumors Cause Seizures
Seizures are sudden, abnormal electrical impulse activity in the brain.
Tumor-related seizures happen because of the excessive firing of the neurons in and around the tumor. While it is not known why certain tumors cause seizures, some factors might include the location, the type of tumor, genetic factors, and the integrity of theblood-brain barrier(a network of blood vessels and tissue that protects the brain from toxins, supplies nutrients to brain tissues, and filters harmful substances from the brain back into the bloodstream).
The frequency of seizures can depend on whether a brain tumor isprimary (at the site where it originiated) or metastatic (having spread from a tumor elsewhere in the body). Seizures also are more common in people with low-gradegliomas(the most common type of brain tumor in adults) than in high-grade types. Where the tumor is located is another major factor. In general, brain tumors close to the brain’s surface are more likely to cause seizures.
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Types of Brain Tumors and Seizures
Various characteristics of brain tumors can affect seizure type and frequency. One of these characteristics is the type of brain tumor it is. The types of tumors and their chances of causing seizures include:
Seizures are common in low-grade gliomas, when cancer cells tend to look normal. They act as an early warning sign of the presence of a brain tumor and, because of this, prognosis (likely outcome) tends to be good.
Recognizing a Brain Tumor-Related Seizure
A tumor-related seizure can cause different symptoms in different people. Generally speaking, a seizure can cause physical changes such as:
Other symptoms of a brain-tumor related seizure can include:
The severity of brain tumor symptoms is not related to how large a tumor is. Rather, location, tumor type, and grade are key factors in severity of symptoms.
This is especially true when it comes to seizures. Tumors in one part of the brain may cause a more severetype of seizurethan in another part of the brain even though the tumor may be smaller and the cancer less advanced than a tumor in another location that’s not causing seizures.
Partial seizures (i.e., those that affect only part of the brain) without loss of consciousness tend to be most common in cases in which seizures persist.
Seizures are very serious and should never be ignored or left unreported to a physician. If you suspect you have had a seizure and are uncertain, report it to your healthcare provider immediately.
Symptoms of Seizures
Treating Brain Tumor-Related Seizures
Whether a person with a brain tumor has had one or 100 seizure episodes, controlling and preventing seizure activity is an essential part of theirtreatment.
In most cases, the seizures themselves do not pose a great health risk (unless they last for several minutes or more).
Medications
Tumor-related seizures may be controlled with anticonvulsants or antiepileptic medications. Due to the high rate of seizure activity with brain tumors, the use of these drugs usually is standard in people with certain types of brain tumors. Commonly prescribed medications include:
Not everyone requires medication to prevent or control seizures—only patients who meet certain criteria. And even in people who fit the criteria, seizures can be resistant to medication.
Guide to Anti-Epileptic Drugs
Summary
Not everyone who has a brain tumor has seizures, but seizures can be one of the first signs of a brain tumor. The seizures that occur can vary in intensity, frequency, and characteristics, depending on the type of brain tumor and its location, among other things.
A Word From Verywell
Seizures don’t always behave the way you think they might. If you notice occasions of abnormal, uncontrollable symptoms, such as twitching, experiencing hallucinations, or staring, see your healthcare provider. They can examine you and assess you for a brain tumor. Living with a brain tumor can feel uncertain, but your treatment team can be a source of information, reassurance, and connection.
Frequently Asked QuestionsA variety of brain tumors can cause seizures, including neurogliomas, gangliogliomas, oligodendrogliomas, and glioblastomas.They typically don’t go away over time, but they may be able to be managed through medication or surgery.Often times the seizure is the first symptom, and in order to find out why the seizures are occurring, imaging tests are done like a CT (computed tomography) scan or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
A variety of brain tumors can cause seizures, including neurogliomas, gangliogliomas, oligodendrogliomas, and glioblastomas.
They typically don’t go away over time, but they may be able to be managed through medication or surgery.
Often times the seizure is the first symptom, and in order to find out why the seizures are occurring, imaging tests are done like a CT (computed tomography) scan or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-pena A.Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: new insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060Englot DJ, Chang EF, Vecht CJ.Epilepsy and brain tumors.Handb Clin Neurol. 2016;134:267-85. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-802997-8.00016-5Northwestern Medicine.The link between seizures and brain tumors.Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-Pena A. Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: New insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus.Seizures.Moffitt Cancer Center.Can brain tumors cause seizures?van der Meer PB, Dirven L, van den Bent MJ, et al.Prescription preferences of antiepileptic drugs in brain tumor patients: An international survey among EANO members.Neuro-Oncology. 2022;9(2):105-113. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/nop/npab059Ertürk Çetin Ö, İşler C, Uzan M, Özkara Ç.Epilepsy-related brain tumors.Seizure. 2017;44:93-97. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2016.12.012Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain tumors and brain cancer.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-pena A.Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: new insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060Englot DJ, Chang EF, Vecht CJ.Epilepsy and brain tumors.Handb Clin Neurol. 2016;134:267-85. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-802997-8.00016-5Northwestern Medicine.The link between seizures and brain tumors.Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-Pena A. Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: New insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus.Seizures.Moffitt Cancer Center.Can brain tumors cause seizures?van der Meer PB, Dirven L, van den Bent MJ, et al.Prescription preferences of antiepileptic drugs in brain tumor patients: An international survey among EANO members.Neuro-Oncology. 2022;9(2):105-113. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/nop/npab059Ertürk Çetin Ö, İşler C, Uzan M, Özkara Ç.Epilepsy-related brain tumors.Seizure. 2017;44:93-97. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2016.12.012Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain tumors and brain cancer.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-pena A.Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: new insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060Englot DJ, Chang EF, Vecht CJ.Epilepsy and brain tumors.Handb Clin Neurol. 2016;134:267-85. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-802997-8.00016-5Northwestern Medicine.The link between seizures and brain tumors.Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-Pena A. Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: New insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus.Seizures.Moffitt Cancer Center.Can brain tumors cause seizures?van der Meer PB, Dirven L, van den Bent MJ, et al.Prescription preferences of antiepileptic drugs in brain tumor patients: An international survey among EANO members.Neuro-Oncology. 2022;9(2):105-113. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/nop/npab059Ertürk Çetin Ö, İşler C, Uzan M, Özkara Ç.Epilepsy-related brain tumors.Seizure. 2017;44:93-97. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2016.12.012Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain tumors and brain cancer.
Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-pena A.Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: new insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060
Englot DJ, Chang EF, Vecht CJ.Epilepsy and brain tumors.Handb Clin Neurol. 2016;134:267-85. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-802997-8.00016-5
Northwestern Medicine.The link between seizures and brain tumors.
Vecht CJ, Kerkhof M, Duran-Pena A. Seizure prognosis in brain tumors: New insights and evidence-based management.Oncologist. 2014;19(7):751-759. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0060
U.S. National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus.Seizures.
Moffitt Cancer Center.Can brain tumors cause seizures?
van der Meer PB, Dirven L, van den Bent MJ, et al.Prescription preferences of antiepileptic drugs in brain tumor patients: An international survey among EANO members.Neuro-Oncology. 2022;9(2):105-113. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/nop/npab059
Ertürk Çetin Ö, İşler C, Uzan M, Özkara Ç.Epilepsy-related brain tumors.Seizure. 2017;44:93-97. doi:10.1016/j.seizure.2016.12.012
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain tumors and brain cancer.
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