What is skull base tumor?

Skull base tumors are growths that can form along the base of the skull or directly below the skull base in areas such as the sinuses. Many are benign (noncancerous) and grow slowly over time. In rare cases, a skull base tumor can be cancerous, which means that it is able to spread to other parts of the body.

What does a skull base tumor feel like?

These tumors can grow slowly or rapidly. Symptoms of chondrosarcomas depend on their location in the skull base and may include headache, ringing in the ears, and problems with vision, hearing, or balance.

Are skull base tumors treatable?

Surgery. There are a variety of surgical approaches to treat skull base brain tumors, including craniotomy. Most patients with skull base tumor (about 90 percent) can be treated with less invasive endoscopic endonasal surgery.

Where is a skull base tumor located?

Skull base tumors may grow in the area behind the nose and eyes, near the ear, and along the base of the brain. Not all skull base tumors are cancerous (malignant). But even noncancerous (benign) skull base tumors need evaluation because they can cause harmful symptoms.

Is a skull base tumor a brain tumor?

These tumors do not start in brain tissue but grow next to the brain and may put pressure on neural structures. A tumor may be at the base of the brain or on the back of the skull. It may be growing in the front — near the eye sockets in the nose and sinuses — or in the pituitary gland, among other locations.

Skull Base Surgery at Penn Medicine

Can skull base tumors be removed?

Many skull base tumors can be removed with minimally invasive approaches, which do not require making incisions through the skull. Sometimes, due to a tumor's location or size, it may need to be removed through open surgery, called craniotomy.

How is a skull base tumor diagnosed?

The possibility of a skull base tumor is overlooked. In fact, most people discover they have a skull base tumor after having an MRI scan for an unrelated health condition. An accurate diagnosis usually involves an MRI scan of the brain. This will help your doctor determine the exact size and location of the tumor.

What were your first signs of a brain tumor?

Can you feel a tumor on your skull?

Myth 1: A bump on your skull is a symptom of skull base tumor. Fact: Since the skull base is within the helmet of your skull, you won't be able to feel a tumor the way you might be able to feel a swollen lymph node or a tumor in another part of your body.

How long does it take to recover from skull base surgery?

It can take 4 to 8 weeks to recover from surgery. Your cuts (incisions) may be sore for about 5 days after surgery. Your scalp may swell with fluid. You may also have numbness and shooting pains near your wound.

How long can you live with a skull base tumor?

Using a simple Karnofsky scale for patients undergoing surgery for anterior skull base cancers, we found a highly significant correlation between the K score and survival (Gil et al, unpublished data): the overall 5-year survival of patients with Karnofsky scores >70 was 56 months compared with 23 months in patients ...

How is a skull tumor treated?

Treatment for skull base tumors and conditions may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and/or observation. The treatment for a skull base tumor or condition depends on many factors, including: The location of the tumor or condition. For tumors, the extent of the tumor and whether it is benign or malignant.

How do they remove tumors?

Tumor removal generally requires a larger incision, or cut, than a biopsy. Sometimes, there are less invasive surgical options for tumor removal, like laparoscopic surgery or robotic surgery. These use small instruments and incisions. With a less invasive surgery, you usually have less pain and recover faster.

Can you have a brain tumor for years?

This means that the tumor cells are not likely to spread to other parts of the body. That said, meningiomas can quietly grow for years without causing any problems — and they can get surprisingly large.

How can you detect a brain tumor at home?

What causes lump at base of skull?

A bump on the back of the head has many possible causes, including injuries, cysts, fatty growths, inflamed hair follicles, and bone spurs. Bumps on this part of the body can be hard or soft, and they can vary in size. Injuries are a common cause of bumps and lumps on the back of the head.

Do tumors hurt when pressed?

Bumps that are cancerous are typically large, hard, painless to the touch and appear spontaneously. The mass will grow in size steadily over the weeks and months. Cancerous lumps that can be felt from the outside of your body can appear in the breast, testicle, or neck, but also in the arms and legs.

Are head tumors hard or soft?

Signs of a cancerous lump

Cancerous head lumps are usually hard and painless to the touch. In many cases, the mass appears spontaneously, then steadily grows in size.

Where are most brain tumors located?

Their most common locations are the base of the skull and the lower portion of the spine. Although these tumors are benign, they may invade the adjacent bone and put pressure on nearby neural tissue.

At what age brain tumor can occur?

Brain tumor symptoms can develop in people of all ages – including teens. In recent years, nearly 13% of all new brain cancers were diagnosed in patients under the age of 20, and another 9% were diagnosed in patients between the ages of 20 and 34.

Can stress cause brain tumors?

Stress induces signals that cause cells to develop into tumors, Yale researchers have discovered. The research, published online Jan.

Can MRI detect skull tumor?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan

But they do not pick up the bones of the skull as well as CT scans and therefore may not show the effects of tumors on the skull. MRI scans use radio waves and strong magnets (instead of x-rays) to make pictures.

What type of doctor treats the skull?

Craniofacial Surgeon: A plastic surgeon who specializes in repairing or reshaping the face and skull.

What causes brain tumors?

Brain and spinal cord tumors, like other tumors, are caused by changes in the DNA inside cells. DNA is the chemical that makes up our genes, which control how our cells function. We usually look like our parents because they are the source of our DNA. But DNA affects more than how we look.

What kind of doctor removes tumors?

Surgical oncologists treat cancer using surgery, including removing the tumor and nearby tissue during a operation. This type of surgeon can also perform certain types of biopsies to help diagnose cancer.