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".

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.

Source:

- severe headache

- visual loss (due to papilledema)

- vomiting

- bilateral Babinski sign

- drowsiness (after several hours of the above symptoms)

- gait change (rotation of feet when walking)

- impaction/constipation

- back flexibility

There is a wide range of symptoms that patients show. Symptoms can lie dormant, but come about due to Obstructive hydrocephalus. These symptoms include:

- Intracranial pressure

- Headache

- Papilledema

- Vomiting

- Light headedness

- Impaired mental activity

- Gait instability

In rare and extreme cases, more severe symptoms can be observed:

- Memory disturbance

- Dementia

- Hemiparesis

- Seizures

- Hemorrhage

- Psychosis

Children affected by pilocytic astrocytoma can present with different symptoms that might include failure to thrive (lack of appropriate weight gain/ weight loss), headache, nausea, vomiting, irritability, torticollis (tilt neck or wry neck) difficulty to coordinate movements and visual complaints (including nystagmus). The complaints may vary depending on the location and size of the neoplasm. The most common symptoms are associated with increased intracranial pressure due to the size of the neoplasm.

Seizures, frequent mood changes, and headaches are among the earliest symptoms of the tumor. Hemiparesis, or physical weakness on one side of the body, is also common. A continuous EEG recording of the brain's electrical activity may help to identify and localize seizure activity, especially in children. CT scans and MRI scans of the brain may show the presence of a diffuse mass that fails to light up when a contrast dye is given. In some cases, a biopsy may be required to confirm the nature of the tumour.

The symptoms of choroid plexus carcinoma are similar to those of other brain tumors. They include:

- Persistent or new onset headaches

- Macrocephaly or bulging fontanels in infants.

- Loss of appetite (refusal to take food in infants)

- Papilledema

- Nausea and emesis

- Ataxia

- Strabismus

- Developmental delays

- Altered mental status

Ependymoma is a tumor that arises from the ependyma, a tissue of the central nervous system. Usually, in pediatric cases the location is intracranial, while in adults it is spinal. The common location of intracranial ependymoma is the fourth ventricle. Rarely, ependymoma can occur in the pelvic cavity.

Syringomyelia can be caused by an ependymoma.

Ependymomas are also seen with neurofibromatosis type II.

Central neurocytoma, abbreviated CNC, is an extremely rare, ordinarily benign intraventricular brain tumour that typically forms from the neuronal cells of the septum pellucidum. The majority of central neurocytomas grow inwards into the ventricular system forming interventricular neurocytomas. This leads to two primary symptoms of CNCs, blurred vision and increased intracranial pressure. Treatment for a central neurocytoma typically involves surgical removal, with an approximate 1 in 5 chance of recurrence. Central neurocytomas are classified as a grade II tumor under the World Health Organization's classification of tumors of the nervous system.

Pilocytic astrocytoma or juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma or cystic cerebellar astrocytoma (and its variant juvenile pilomyxoid astrocytoma) is a brain tumor that occurs more often in children and young adults (in the first 20 years of life). They usually arise in the cerebellum, near the brainstem, in the hypothalamic region, or the optic chiasm, but they may occur in any area where astrocytes are present, including the cerebral hemispheres and the spinal cord. These tumors are usually slow growing and benign. The neoplasms are associated with the formation of a single (or multiple) cyst(s), and can become very large.

Pilocytic astrocytomas are often cystic, and, if solid, tend to be well-circumscribed. It is characteristically easily seen on Computed tomography (CT scans) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma is associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), and optic gliomas are among the most frequently encountered tumors in patients with this disorder. The majority of pilocytic astrocytomas have a unique KIAA1549-BRAF fusion gene.

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.

Fibrillary astrocytomas arise from neoplastic astrocytes, a type of glial cell found in the central nervous system. They may occur anywhere in the brain, or even in the spinal cord, but are most commonly found in the cerebral hemispheres. As the alternative name of "diffuse astrocytoma" implies, the outline of the tumour is not clearly visible in scans, because the borders of the neoplasm tend to send out tiny microscopic fibrillary tentacles that spread into the surrounding brain tissue. These tentacles intermingle with healthy brain cells, making complete surgical removal difficult. However, they are low grade tumors, with a slow rate of growth, so that patients commonly survive longer than those with otherwise similar types of brain tumour, such as glioblastoma multiforme.

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.

There are many possible symptoms of oligodendrogliomas that are similar to other gliomas. These symptoms may include headache, seizure and speech or motor changes.

Vision deficit usually occurs when lesions grow in the occipital lobe of the brain, causing a blurred daze for patients, especially in sensitivity to light. Focusing upon finer objects becomes a challenge, along with edge and border detection. Driving behind the wheel is dangerous when astroblastoma grows in residual tissue size, since peripheral vision can be insufficient. Horizontal nystagmus and other involuntary eye disorders can occur.

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.

Hemangioblastomas (or haemangioblastomas, see spelling differences) (capilliary hemangioblastomas) are tumors of the central nervous system that originate from the vascular system usually during middle-age. Sometimes these tumors occur in other sites such as the spinal cord and retina. They may be associated with other diseases such as polycythemia (increased blood cell count), pancreatic cysts and Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome (VHL syndrome). Hemangioblastomas are most commonly composed of stromal cells in small blood vessels and usually occur in the cerebellum, brain stem or spinal cord. They are classed as grade one tumors under the World Health Organization's classification system.

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.

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.

A choroid plexus carcinoma (WHO grade III) is a type of choroid plexus tumor that affects the choroid plexus of the brain. It is considered the worst of the three grades of chord plexus tumors, having a much poorer prognosis than choroid atypical plexus papilloma (WHO grade II) and choroid plexus papilloma (WHO grade I). The disease creates lesions in the brain and increases cerebrospinal fluid volume, resulting in hydrocephalus.

Oligoastrocytomas are a subset of brain tumors that present with an appearance of mixed glial cell origin, astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma. These types of glial cells that become cancerous are involved with insulating and regulating the activity of neuron cells in the central nervous system. Often called a "mixed glioma", about 2.3% of all reported brain tumors are diagnosed as oligoastrocytoma. The median age of diagnosis is 42.5.

Oligoastrocytomas, like astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas, can be divided into low-grade and anaplastic variant, the latter characterized by high , conspicuous cytologic , mitotic activity and, in some cases, microvascular proliferation and necrosis.

However, lower grades can have less aggressive biology.

These are largely supratentorial tumors of adulthood that favor the frontal and temporal lobes.

In anywhere from fifty to eighty percent of cases, the first symptom of an oligodendroglioma is the onset of seizure activity. They occur mainly in the frontal lobe.

Headaches combined with increased intracranial pressure are also a common symptom of oligodendroglioma. Depending on the location of the tumor, any neurological deficit can be induced, from visual loss, motor weakness and cognitive decline. A computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is necessary to characterize the anatomy of this tumor (size, location, heter/homogeneity). However, final diagnosis of this tumor, like most tumors, relies on histopathologic examination (biopsy examination).

Medulloepithelioma most commonly affect children between 6 months and 5 years; rarely, this tumour may occur congenitally or beyond this age range. Incidence is equal in males and females.

Signs of the tumor resulting from increased intracranial pressure are present in 91% of patients, with vomiting, homonymous visual field defects and headache being the most common symptoms.

Other symptoms are ear ringing and dizziness.

Medulloepithelioma is a rare, primitive, fast-growing brain tumour thought to stem from cells of the embryonic medullary cavity. Tumours originating in the ciliary body of the eye are referred to as embryonal medulloepitheliomas, or diktyomas.

A highly malignant undifferentiated primitive neuroepithelial tumour of children, medulloepithelioma may contain bone, cartilage, skeletal muscle, and tends to metastasize extracranially.