Will lung cancer patients develop brain metastasis?

Lung cancer patients may experience unexplained headaches, vomiting, visual impairment, and changes in personality and temper. These may be manifestations of intracranial hypertension or cranial nerve damage caused by lung cancer metastasis to the brain, which is common in small cell lung cancer and adenocarcinoma types.

Headache is the most common symptom. Vomiting often occurs when the headache is severe and is characterized by projectile vomiting. Visual impairment indicates that the tumor has compressed or invaded the optic nerve. In addition to the above common symptoms, brain metastasis of lung cancer may also cause epilepsy, paroxysmal blackouts, cataplexy, impaired consciousness, increased blood pressure, and slow pulse. In severe cases, brain herniation may occur due to tumor compression, leading to respiratory arrest, thus endangering the patient's life.

In recent years, due to the widespread use of brain CT scans for lung cancer patients, many asymptomatic patients with brain metastases have been discovered, which has bought time for treatment. Therefore, brain CT should be included as a routine examination for patients diagnosed with lung cancer to detect brain metastases as early as possible.