What is secondary brain cancer?

How cancer spreads

Where a cancer starts is called the primary cancer. If some cancer cells break away from the primary cancer, they can move through the bloodstream or ​lymphatic system​ to another part of the body forming a new tumour. This is called a secondary cancer. Secondary cancers are also called metastases (pronounced me-tass-ta-sis).

Read more about how cancers can spread

The secondary cancer is made of the same type of cells as the primary cancer.

So, if your cancer started in your lung and has spread to your brain, the areas of cancer in the brain are made up of lung cancer cells.

This is different from having a cancer that first started in the brain (a primary brain cancer). In that case, the cancer is made up of brain cells that have become cancerous. This is important because the primary cancer tells your doctor which type of treatment you need.

Find out about primary brain cancer

This video is about secondary cancer, it lasts for 2 minutes and 42 seconds.

Which cancers spread to the brain?

Any cancer can spread to the brain. Some of the cancers that do are:

• lung cancer

• breast cancer

• kidney cancer

• melanoma skin cancer

• bowel cancer (colorectal cancer)

Find out more about your cancer type

Symptoms of secondary brain cancer

Symptoms depend on where the cancer is in your brain. The cancer can cause pressure on the surrounding brain tissue and the symptoms will depend on what this part of the brain does.

Symptoms can include:

• headaches

• feeling or being sick

• weakness of a part of the body

• seizures (fits)

• personality or mood changes

• changes to your eyesight such as blurred vision or loss of vision

• confusion and difficulty understanding

• difficulty speaking

Find out more about the different parts of the brain

Tests for secondary brain cancer

You may have one or more of the following tests:

• physical examination by a doctor to test your muscle strength, eyes and reaction times

• CT scan

• MRI scan

• biopsy (removing some or all of the tumour to see if it is cancer)

You may not need to have a biopsy as your medical history and test results can usually give a clear idea about whether you have a secondary cancer. 

Find out about tests

Secondary brain cancer treatment

Secondary brain cancer can’t usually be cured. But treatment can control it for some time and help prevent problems developing. Some people may not be able to have treatment for their cancer because they are too unwell. 

Go to information about treating secondary brain cancer

Secondary brain cancer survival

Most people worry about their outlook (prognosis) when they have a secondary cancer. Your individual outlook depends on many factors including whether the cancer has spread to more than one part of your body, how quickly it is growing and how it responds to treatment. 

It is usually difficult to predict and this uncertainty can be hard to deal with. Speak to your doctor who can give you more information about your outlook.

Find out about coping with secondary cancer