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Brain cancer symptoms

Symptoms depend on where the tumour is in the brain and how slowly or quickly the tumour is growing. Symptoms can develop suddenly or gradually over time.

Many symptoms are likely to be caused by other medical conditions, but see your doctor about any new, persistent or worsening symptoms.

Learn more about:

General symptoms
Symptoms caused by the position of the tumour

General symptoms

Brain tumours can increase pressure inside the skull (known as intracranial pressure). Pressure can build up because the tumour is taking up too much space, is causing brain swelling or is blocking the flow of cerebrospinal fluid around the brain (see Having a shunt).

Increased pressure inside the skull can lead to symptoms such as:

headaches – often worse when you wake up
nausea and vomiting – often worse in the morning or after changing position (e.g. moving from sitting to standing)
confusion and irritability
blurred or double vision
seizures (fits) – might cause some jerking or twitching of your hands, arms or legs, or affect the whole body
drowsiness
weakness in parts of the body
poor coordination
loss of consciousness
difficulty speaking or finding the right words.

Symptoms caused by the position of the tumor

Other symptoms depend on where the tumour is located in the brain or spinal cord – see below for more on this.

Common tumour symptoms

The symptoms you experience will depend on where the tumour is in the brain or spinal cord. See above for general symptoms caused by pressure in the skull.

Description of common Brain tumour symptoms

Part of the brain	Symptoms
Frontal lobe	difficulty with planning or organising activities changes in behaviour, personality and social skills depression or mood swings weakness in part of the face, or on one side of the body difficulty walking loss of sense of smell problems with seeing or speaking trouble finding the right word
Parietal lobe	problems with reading or writing loss of feeling in part of the body difficulty telling left from right difficulty locating objects around you
Temporal lobe	forgetting events and conversations difficulty understanding what is said to you trouble learning and remembering new information seizures with strange feelings, smells or deja vu
Occipital lobe	loss of all or some vision
Meninges	headaches vomiting weakness in arms or legs personality changes or confusion
Cerebellum	coordination and balance problems uncontrolled eye movement stiff neck dizziness difficulty speaking (staccato speech)
Spinal cord	back and neck pain numbness or tingling in the arms or legs change to muscle tone in the arms or legs clumsiness or difficulty walking loss of bowel or bladder control (incontinence)
Pituitary gland	headaches loss of vision (often side vision) nausea or vomiting erection problems less interest in sex thyroid and other hormone changes
Brain stem	coordination problems difficulty swallowing or speaking double vision weakness and numbness in part of the face leg and arm weakness fatigue changes to sleep/wake patterns

Nerve tumours

Symptoms of tumours starting in the nerves in the brain will depend on the affected nerve. The most common nerve tumours are vestibular schwannomas (acoustic neuromas), which cause deafness and loss of balance.

→ READ MORE: Brain cancer diagnosis

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Key resource

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Understanding Brain Tumours

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This information was last reviewed in May 2022. View who reviewed this content.

A/Prof Lindy Jeffree, Neurosurgeon, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Emma Daly, Neuro-oncology Clinical Nurse Consultant, Cabrini Health, VIC; A/Prof Andrew Davidson, Neurosurgeon, Victorian Gamma Knife Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, VIC; Beth Doggett, Consumer; Kate Fernandez, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Melissa Harrison, Allied Health Manager and Senior Neurological Physiotherapist, Advance Rehab Centre, NSW; A/Prof Rosemary Harrup, Director, Cancer and Blood Services, Royal Hobart Hospital, TAS; A/Prof Eng-Siew Koh, Radiation Oncologist, Liverpool Cancer Therapy Centre, Liverpool Hospital and University of New South Wales, NSW; Andy Stokes, Consumer.

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