Nervous system neoplasms and primary malignancies of other sites

TLDR

The study aimed to assess whether nervous system tumors are linked to primary cancers at other sites by examining the frequency of multiple primary tumors when at least one tumor involved the nervous system. The cohort comprised Connecticut residents diagnosed with tumors between 1935 and 1964. Among 135 patients, 130 had two primary tumors, four had three, and one had four, with only the brain–breast combination exceeding expected counts—eight meningioma–breast pairs—highlighting the need to evaluate breast cancer patients with intracranial symptoms for potentially curable meningiomas.

Abstract

To determine whether nervous system neoplasms are associated with primary malignancies elsewhere, we studied the frequency of multiple primary tumors in patients in whom at least one of the primary tumors was within the nervous system. The patients were Connecticut residents with tumors diagnosed between 1935 and 1964. Of 135 patients, 130 had two primary tumors, four had three primary tumors, and one had four primary tumors. Only with multiple primary tumors involving the brain and breast did the number of observed cases significantly exceed the number of expected cases; eight patients who had a meningioma associated with a breast cancer accounted for this excess. Patients with breast cancer presenting with signs or symptoms of an intracranial neoplasm should be carefully evaluated, for the intracranial lesion may be a potentially curable meningioma.