Stages of Adult Central Nervous System Tumors

There is no standard staging system for adult brain and spinal cord tumors.

The process used to find out if cancer has spread to other areas of the brain or to other parts of the body is called staging. Brain tumors that begin in the brain rarely spread to other parts of the body. There is no standard staging system for brain and spinal cord tumors.

Treatment of primary brain and spinal cord tumors is based on the following:

• The type of cell in which the tumor began.
• Where the tumor formed in the brain or spinal cord.
• The amount of cancer left after surgery.
• The grade of the tumor.

Treatment of tumors that have spread to the brain from other parts of the body is based on the number of tumors in the brain.

Imaging tests may be repeated after surgery to help plan more treatment.

Some of the tests and procedures used to diagnose a brain or spinal cord tumor may be repeated after treatment to find out how much tumor is left.

Central nervous system (CNS) tumors often recur, sometimes many years after treatment.

A recurrent CNS tumor is a tumor that has recurred (come back) after it has been treated. The tumor may recur at the same place as the first tumor or in other parts of the CNS.