ABSTRACT

In 2007, the United States’ National Cancer Institute reported that over 126,000 individuals in the United States alone were aected by primary brain or other central nervous system (CNS) cancers [Altekruse et al., 2010]. In addition to these numbers, metastatic brain cancer aects a signicant percentage of those suering from other primary cancers. Lung and breast cancer patients are particularly prone to developing brain metastases, with one study nding that as many as 19% of lung cancer patients will be diagnosed with brain metastases, and as many as 5% of breast cancer patients [Barnholtz-Sloan et al., 2004]. Old autopsy data from patients with breast carcinoma suggest the incidence may be higher, with as many as 30% developing CNS metastases [Tsukada et al., 1983]. Survival rates are poor once brain metastases develop, with a reported median survival of just seven months in patients with good prognosis [Gaspar et al, 1997]. orough reviews on both primary [Behin et al., 2003] and metastatic [Kamar and Posner, 2010] brain cancer exist that describe diagnosis and classication of the various tumor types.