Side Effect: Brain swelling (Cerebral Edema)

• Swelling around the brain, also called cerebral edema, is a medical condition where there is an accumulation of fluid in the brain tissue due to a disruption of the blood-brain barrier.
• Brain swelling can cause increased pressure within the skull, also known as intracranial pressure.
• Brain swelling can be serious and usually requires immediate medical attention.

• The gold standard for diagnosing brain swelling is imaging with either a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) of the brain.
• The appearance of brain swelling on imaging studies can vary depending on the cause and severity of the condition.
• In general, the brain tissue may appear swollen and compressed and there may be areas of abnormal enhancement or contrast uptake on the scan.
• Symptoms of brain swelling may include all or some of the following:
  • headaches
  • confusion
  • seizures
  • nausea and vomiting

Brain swelling can be caused by many factors including:

• traumatic brain injury
• stroke
• infection
• in patients with cancer, swelling around the brain can happen due to the presence of primary brain tumors or brain metastases
• radiation to the brain can also cause temporary brain swelling.

• Preventing brain swelling in patients with cancer involves addressing the underlying cause of the swelling before it has an opportunity to cause swelling
• In some cases, corticosteroids like dexamethasone (Decadron©) may be used to reduce inflammation in the brain and prevent further brain swelling.
• If a brain tumor is present, surgical resection of the lesion or radiation may be necessary to prevent swelling from getting worse.

Treatment of brain swelling in patients with cancer may include:

• surgical resection of brain tumors if present
• radiation
• chemotherapy
• corticosteroids like dexamethasone (Decadron©) to reduce inflammation
  
  
• In patients with certain primary brain tumors, a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor called bevacizumab (Avastin©) may be used to reduce brain swelling.
  
  
• In patients who developed seizures due to brain swelling, antiseizure medications may be prescribed to prevent further seizures from occurring.