Practical management of headaches in patients with primary and secondary brain tumors

Authors

• Megan Eh Still, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Electronic address: Megan.still@ufl.edu.
• Joy Burke, Department of Neurology, Lahey Medical Center, Burlington MA.
• Jennifer Robblee, Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ.
• Surabhi Ranjan, Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL.
• Nestor Galvez-Jimenez, The Kenneth C. Griffin Center at Miami Neuroscience Institute, Miami, FL; Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University. Miami, FL.
• Rachel Sf Moor, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
• Marianne Karam, MaineHealth

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-7-2026

Institution/Department

Neurology

Journal Title

Journal of pain and symptom management

Abstract

PURPOSE: Headaches in patients with brain tumors can be multifaceted and difficult to treat, significantly affecting quality of life. METHODS: We conducted a narrative synthesis of the literature to discuss the most common causes of and treatments for headache associated with brain tumors. RESULTS: Although increased intracranial pressure due to space-occupying lesions may be the pain driver in some instances, many patients experience secondary headaches that should be treated based on their primary characteristics, such as migraine or tension-like headache. Similarly, the location of tumors can affect pain type, inciting nerve, meningeal, or skull pain, and secondary headaches may also be induced by treatment effects from entities such as posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome PRES or radiation necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: All these headache phenotypes should be treated based on symptoms and pain driver, with a focus on a wholistic approach incorporating both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic options to improve the quality of life of patients with brain tumors.

Recommended Citation

Still, Megan Eh; Burke, Joy; Robblee, Jennifer; Ranjan, Surabhi; Galvez-Jimenez, Nestor; Moor, Rachel Sf; and Karam, Marianne, "Practical management of headaches in patients with primary and secondary brain tumors" (2026). MaineHealth Maine Medical Center. 4462.
https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/mmc/4462