The most common symptom of the papillary tumor is a headache. Because headaches are so common, most people think nothing of it. This is why brain tumors are so dangerous. There are not a lot of symptoms that go along with them so people tend to wait a long time before seeking medical help. Most of the time people will go see a doctor when their headaches become consistent and start to never go away. This symptom however occurs secondary to hydrocephalus, which is a result from compression of the cerebral aqueduct. The cerebral aqueduct is a narrow channel in the midbrain, which connects the third and fourth ventricles. When a tumor blocks the pathway of the cerebrospinal fluid, this will cause headaches in the patient. Often when hydrocephalus occurs, a shunt is put in place in order to alleviate the pressure. In one case study, an endoscopic third ventriculostomy was performed as a first line procedure to treat the hydrocephalus and also for diagnostic purposes.

In some cases, patients have had progressive diplopia, or double vision. Also, although not in all cases, patients sometimes suffer from nausea and vomiting.

Symptoms may include:

- Swelling in the extremities (arms or legs), also called peripheral edema; the swelling often is painless.

- Difficulty in moving the extremity that has the tumor, including a limp.

- Soreness localized to the area of the tumor or in the extremity.

- Neurological symptoms.

- Pain or discomfort: numbness, burning, or "pins and needles."

- Dizzyness and/or loss of balance.

Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors are a rare type of cancer that arise from the soft tissue that surrounds nerves. They are a type of sarcoma. Most malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors arise from the nerve plexuses that distribute nerves into the limbs—the brachial and lumbar plexuses—or from nerves as they arise from the trunk.

Common symptoms include, but are not necessarily limited to:

- Lack of facial control, (droopy eyelids)

- Double vision

- Headache or headache that gets better after vomiting

- Nausea and vomiting

- Weakness and fatigue

- Seizures

- Balance problems

- Numbness in face

Symptoms can develop slowly and subtly and may go unnoticed for months. In other cases, the symptoms may arise abruptly. A sudden onset of symptoms tends to occur with more rapidly growing, high-grade tumors.

The desire to eat normally becomes worse over time, leading to weight loss from vomiting. Nausea is seen in almost all cases of astroblastoma, especially in low-grade tumors.

Papillary tumors of the pineal region (PTPR) were first described by A. Jouvet et al. in 2003 and were introduced in the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of Central Nervous System (CNS) in 2007. Papillary Tumors of the Pineal Region are located on the pineal gland which is located in the center of the brain. The pineal gland is located on roof of the diencephalon. It is a cone shaped structure dorsal to the midbrain tectum. The tumor appears to be derived from the specialized ependymal cells of the subcommissural organ. Papillary tumors of the central nervous system and particularly of the pineal region are very rare and so diagnosing them is extremely difficult.

Along with cranial pressure, patients exhibit noticeable lethargy, increasing in severity as the tumor progresses. In the first few months, morning activities are usually unaffected; over time, these effects become more pronounced, especially late at night. Lethargy can disrupt vital signs, depleting energy and desire to perform simple cognitive tasks.

Choroid plexus tumors are a rare type of cancer that occur from the brain tissue called choroid plexus of the brain. These tumors usually occur in children younger than 2 years and are classified according to the WHO classification of the tumors of the central nervous system:

- Choroid plexus carcinoma (WHO grade III)

- Choroid atypical plexus papilloma (WHO grade II)

- Choroid plexus papilloma (WHO grade I)

Symptoms vary depending on the size and location of the tumor and typically include headaches, nausea and vomiting, irritability, and decreased energy.

Headaches as a result of raised intracranial pressure can be an early symptom of brain cancer. However, isolated headache without other symptoms is rarer, and other symptoms often occur before headaches become common. Certain warning signs for headache exist which make it more likely to be associated with brain cancer. These are as defined by the American Academy of Neurology: "abnormal neurological examination, headache worsened by Valsalva maneuver, headache causing awakening from sleep, new headache in the older population, progressively worsening headache, atypical headache features, or patients who do not fulfill the strict definition of migraine".

A brainstem glioma is a cancerous glioma tumor in the brainstem. Around 75% are diagnosed in children and young adults under the age of twenty, but have been known to affect older adults as well. Brainstem gliomas start in the brain or spinal cord tissue and typically spread throughout the nervous system.

The signs and symptoms of brain tumors are broad. People with brain tumors will experience them no matter if the tumor is benign (not cancerous) or cancerous. Primary and secondary brain tumors present with similar symptoms, depending on the location, size, and rate of growth of the tumor. For example, larger tumors in the frontal lobe can cause changes in the ability to think. However, a smaller tumor in an area such as Wernicke's area (small area responsible for language comprehension) can result in a greater loss of function.

The first symptoms of neuroblastoma are often vague making diagnosis difficult. Fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, and joint pain are common. Symptoms depend on primary tumor locations and metastases if present:

- In the abdomen, a tumor may cause a swollen belly and constipation.

- A tumor in the chest may cause breathing problems.

- A tumor pressing on the spinal cord may cause weakness and thus an inability to stand, crawl, or walk.

- Bone lesions in the legs and hips may cause pain and limping.

- A tumor in the bones around the eyes or orbits may cause distinct bruising and swelling.

- Infiltration of the bone marrow may cause pallor from anemia.

Neuroblastoma often spreads to other parts of the body before any symptoms are apparent and 50 to 60% of all neuroblastoma cases present with metastases.

The most common location for neuroblastoma to originate (i.e., the primary tumor) is in the adrenal glands. This occurs in 40% of localized tumors and in 60% of cases of widespread disease. Neuroblastoma can also develop anywhere along the sympathetic nervous system chain from the neck to the pelvis. Frequencies in different locations include: neck (1%), chest (19%), abdomen (30% non-adrenal), or pelvis (1%). In rare cases, no primary tumor can be discerned.

Rare but characteristic presentations include transverse myelopathy (tumor spinal cord compression, 5% of cases), treatment-resistant diarrhea (tumor vasoactive intestinal peptide secretion, 4% of cases), Horner's syndrome (cervical tumor, 2.4% of cases), opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome and ataxia (suspected paraneoplastic cause, 1.3% of cases), and hypertension (catecholamine secretion or renal artery compression, 1.3% of cases).

Symptoms of gliomas depend on which part of the central nervous system is affected. A brain glioma can cause headaches, vomiting, seizures, and cranial nerve disorders as a result of increased intracranial pressure. A glioma of the optic nerve can cause visual loss. Spinal cord gliomas can cause pain, weakness, or numbness in the extremities. Gliomas do not metastasize by the bloodstream, but they can spread via the cerebrospinal fluid and cause "drop metastases" to the spinal cord.

A child who has a subacute disorder of the central nervous system that produces cranial nerve abnormalities (especially of cranial nerve VII and the lower bulbar nerves), long-tract signs, unsteady gait secondary to spasticity, and some behavioral changes is most likely to have a pontine glioma.

Gliomas can be classified according to whether they are above or below a membrane in the brain called the tentorium. The tentorium separates the cerebrum (above) from the cerebellum (below).

- The supratentorial is above the tentorium, in the cerebrum, and mostly found in adults (70%).

- The infratentorial is below the tentorium, in the cerebellum, and mostly found in children (70%).

- The pontine tumors are located in the pons of the brainstem. The brainstem has three parts (pons, midbrain, and medulla); the pons controls critical functions such as breathing, making surgery on these extremely dangerous.

A nerve sheath tumor is a type of tumor of the nervous system (nervous system neoplasm) which is made up primarily of the myelin surrounding nerves.

A peripheral nerve sheath tumor (PNST) is a nerve sheath tumor in the peripheral nervous system. Benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors include schwannomas and neurofibromas.

A malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a cancerous peripheral nerve sheath tumor.

Most paragangliomas are either asymptomatic or present as a painless mass. While all contain neurosecretory granules, only in 1–3% of cases is secretion of hormones such as catecholamines abundant enough to be clinically significant; in that case manifestations often resemble those of pheochromocytomas (intra-medullary paraganglioma).

Astrocytomas are a type of cancer of the brain. They originate in a particular kind of glial cells, star-shaped brain cells in the cerebrum called astrocytes. This type of tumor does not usually spread outside the brain and spinal cord and it does not usually affect other organs. Astrocytomas are the most common glioma and can occur in most parts of the brain and occasionally in the spinal cord. Within the astrocytomas, there are two broad classes recognized in literature, those with:

- Narrow zones of infiltration (mostly noninvasive tumors; e.g., pilocytic astrocytoma, subependymal giant cell astrocytoma, pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma), that often are clearly outlined on diagnostic images

- Diffuse zones of infiltration (e.g., high-grade astrocytoma, anaplastic astrocytoma, glioblastoma), that share various features, including the ability to arise at any location in the CNS (Central Nervous System), but with a preference for the cerebral hemispheres; they occur usually in adults; and an intrinsic tendency to progress to more advanced grades.

People can develop astrocytomas at any age. The low-grade type is more often found in children or young adults, while the high-grade type are more prevalent in adults. Astrocytomas in the base of the brain are more common in young people and account for roughly 75% of neuroepithelial tumors.

There are few early warning signs that a patient has a DSRCT. Patients are often young and healthy as the tumors grow and spread uninhibited within the abdominal cavity. These are rare tumors and symptoms are often misdiagnosed by physicians. The abdominal masses can grow to enormous size before being noticed by the patient. The tumors can be felt as hard, round masses by palpating the abdomen.

First symptoms of the disease often include abdominal distention, abdominal mass, abdominal or back pain, gastrointestinal obstruction, lack of appetite, ascites, anemia, and/or cachexia.

Other reported symptoms include unknown lumps, thyroid conditions, hormonal conditions, blood clotting, kidney or urological problems, testicle, breast, uterine, vaginal, or ovarian masses.

About 85% of paragangliomas develop in the abdomen; only 12% develop in the chest and 3% in the head and neck region (the latter are the most likely to be symptomatic). While most are single, rare multiple cases occur (usually in a hereditary syndrome). Paragangliomas are described by their site of origin and are often given special names:

- Carotid paraganglioma (carotid body tumor): Is the most common of the head and neck paragangliomas. It usually presents as a painless neck mass, but larger tumors may cause cranial nerve palsies, usually of the vagus nerve and hypoglossal nerve.

- Organ of Zuckerkandl: A collection of paraganglia near the bifurcation of the aorta, comprising a small mass of neural crest-derived chromaffin cells. Serves as a common origin of abdominal paragangliomas.

- Glomus tympanicum and Glomus jugulare: Both commonly present as a middle ear mass resulting in tinnitus (in 80%) and hearing loss (in 60%). The cranial nerves of the jugular foramen may be compressed, resulting swallowing difficulty, or ipsilateral weakness of the upper trapezius and sternocleiodomastoid muscles (from compression of the spinal accessory nerve). These patients present with a reddish bulge behind an intact ear drum. This condition is also known as the "Red drum". On application of pressure to the external ear canal with the help of a pneumatic ear speculum the mass could be seen to blanch. This sign is known as "Brown's sign". A deficient bony plate along the tympanic portion of the internal carotid artery (aberrant ICA) is a normal variant and can be mistaken with glomus jugulare.

- Vagal paraganglioma: These are the least common of the head and neck paragangliomas. They usually present as a painless neck mass, but may result in dysphagia and hoarseness.

- Pulmonary paraganglioma: These occur in the lung and may be either single or multiple.

- Other sites: Rare sites of involvement are the larynx, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, thyroid gland, and the thoracic inlet, as well as the bladder in extremely rare cases.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a type of cancer that forms in certain types of nerve tissue. It most frequently starts from one of the adrenal glands, but can also develop in the neck, chest, abdomen, or spine. Symptoms may include bone pain, a lump in the abdomen, neck, or chest, or a painless bluish lump under the skin.

Occasionally neuroblastoma may be due to a mutation inherited from a person's parents. Environmental factors have not been found to be involved. Diagnosis is based on a tissue biopsy. Occasionally it may be found in a baby by ultrasound during pregnancy. At diagnosis the cancer has usually already spread. The cancer is divided into low, intermediate, and high risk groups based on a child's age, cancer stage, and what the cancer looks like.

Treatment and outcomes depends on the risk group a person is in. Treatments may include observation, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or stem cell transplantation. Low-risk disease in babies typically has a good outcome with surgery or simply observation. In high-risk disease chances of long term survival, however, are less than 40% despite aggressive treatment.

Neuroblastoma is the most common cancer in babies and the third most common cancer in children after leukemia and brain cancer. About 1 in every 7,000 children is affected at some point in time. About 90% of cases occur in children less than 5 years old and it is rare in adults. Of cancer deaths in children about 15% are due to neuroblastoma. The disease was first described in the 1800s.

Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor is an aggressive and rare cancer that primarily occurs as masses in the abdomen. Other areas affected may include the lymph nodes, the lining of the abdomen, diaphragm, spleen, liver, chest wall, skull, spinal cord, large intestine, small intestine, bladder, brain, lungs, testicles, ovaries, and the pelvis. Reported sites of metastatic spread include the liver, lungs, lymph nodes, brain, skull, and bones.

The tumor is classified as a soft tissue sarcoma. It is considered a childhood cancer that predominantly strikes boys and young adults. The disease rarely occurs in females, but when it does the tumors can be mistaken for ovarian cancer.

In dogs, mast cell tumors are the most frequent round cell tumor.

Carcinomatosis is often restricted to tumors of epithelial origin, adenocarcinomas, while sarcomatosis describes the dissemination of tumors of mesenchymal origin, sarcomas.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma affects many different parts of the body.

In the cervix, it is a rare, but very aggressive form of cervical cancer. In its early stages, neuroendocrine carcinoma is asymptomatic (not showing or producing indications of a disease or other medical condition). In more advanced stages, symptoms of Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix are: abnormal vaginal bleeding, increased vaginal discharge, and pelvic pain, painful urination, pain during sex, tiredness, leg swelling, and backache. When left untreated, metastasis or even death may occur.

Mammary analogue secretory carcinoma (MASC) (also termed MASC; the "SG" subscript indicates salivary gland)) is a salivary gland neoplasm that shares a genetic mutation with certain types of breast cancer. MASC was first described by Skálová et al. in 2010. The authors of this report found a chromosome translocation in certain salivary gland tumors that was identical to the (12;15)(p13;q25) fusion gene mutation found previously in secretory carcinoma, a subtype of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

The most common cancers in children are (childhood) leukemia (32%), brain tumors (18%), and lymphomas (11%). In 2005, 4.1 of every 100,000 young people under 20 years of age in the U.S. were diagnosed with leukemia, and 0.8 per 100,000 died from it. The number of new cases was highest among the 1–4 age group, but the number of deaths was highest among the 10–14 age group.

In 2005, 2.9 of every 100,000 people 0–19 years of age were found to have cancer of the brain or central nervous system, and 0.7 per 100,000 died from it. These cancers were found most often in children between 1 and 4 years of age, but the most deaths occurred among those aged 5–9. The main subtypes of brain and central nervous system tumors in children are: astrocytoma, brain stem glioma, craniopharyngioma, desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma, ependymoma, high-grade glioma, medulloblastoma and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor.

Other, less common childhood cancer types are:

- Neuroblastoma (6%, nervous system)

- Wilms tumor (5%, kidney)

- Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (4%, blood)

- Childhood rhabdomyosarcoma (3%, many sites)

- Retinoblastoma (3%, eye)

- Osteosarcoma (3%, bone cancer)

- Ewing sarcoma (1%, many sites)

- Germ cell tumors (5%, many sites)

- Pleuropulmonary blastoma (lung or pleural cavity)

- Hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)