Table 10.
Causes of cancer-related seizure and cancer-related acute hydrocephalus[158]
Causes | Comments |
Cancer-related seizure | |
Low-grade tumors | Glioma and oligodendroglioma have intrinsic epileptogenic activity as a result of their long survival and reduced seizure threshold |
High-grade tumors | Usually secondary to necrosis, hemorrhage or edema |
Brain metastases | Up to 40% |
Tumor location | Cortical tumors and those on epileptogenic areas (e.g., mesial temporal lobe and insula) are associated with intractable epilepsy |
Stroke | Ischemic or hemorrhagic |
Drug toxicity | Cytarabine, methotrexate, cisplatin, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, anthracyclines |
Neoplastic meningitis | |
Paraneoplastic encephalitis | |
Central nervous system infections | |
Electrolytic imbalance | Hyponatremia, hypocalcaemia |
Metabolic disorders | Hypoglycemia |
Liver or kidney failure | |
Aggravated preexisting epilepsy | Withdrawal medication |
Cancer-related acute hydrocephalus | |
Stopped CSF flow by tumor obstruction of ventricular system | Colloid cysts, ependymoma, intraventricular meningioma, choroid plexus papilloma or posterior fossa tumor; in adults it is often due to leptomeningeal carcinomatosis and intra-ventricular extension of metastasis |
Increased CSF content due to deficit in reabsorption | Venous sinus thrombosis, infectious meningitis, metastatic seeding or subarachnoid hemorrhage |
CSF: Cerebrospinal fluid.