Neurological cancer is cancer of the brain or spine. Sometimes it affects both areas of the body at once. Brain cancer occurs when cells inside your brain reproduce uncontrollably, forming a mass. This mass, also called a tumor, can be cancerous (high grade, malignant) or noncancerous (low grade, benign).

Malignant neurological tumors can invade nearby tissue and spread to other parts of your brain. Benign tumors don’t spread, but they can still cause neurological cancer symptoms, especially if they grow to be quite large.

Every year, approximately 18,000 Americans are diagnosed with neurologic cancer in their brain, spinal cord and other parts of the nervous system. In children, brain and spine cancer most often occur before the age of 10. In adults, it usually develops between the ages of 30 and 50.