Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disorder that can present with clinical and radiological features indistinguishable from a central nervous system (CNS) tumor. Previous studies suggest that whilepatients with MS have a reduced overall risk of cancer, they ma...

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Main Authors: Masih Sabouri, Masoud Etemadifar, Fatemeh Dehghani Firoozabadi, Setayesh Sindarreh, Amirhossein Akhavan-Sigari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:BMC Neurology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-025-04095-7
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author Masih Sabouri
Masoud Etemadifar
Fatemeh Dehghani Firoozabadi
Setayesh Sindarreh
Amirhossein Akhavan-Sigari
author_facet Masih Sabouri
Masoud Etemadifar
Fatemeh Dehghani Firoozabadi
Setayesh Sindarreh
Amirhossein Akhavan-Sigari
author_sort Masih Sabouri
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disorder that can present with clinical and radiological features indistinguishable from a central nervous system (CNS) tumor. Previous studies suggest that whilepatients with MS have a reduced overall risk of cancer, they may have an increased risk of developing CNS malignancies. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, we investigated the prevalence of CNS tumors in patients with MS using data from the Isfahan MS clinic registry between 2020 and 2023 who had been diagnosed with primary CNS tumors following their diagnosis of MS. Results Among the 2,280 registered patients, 36 individuals were diagnosed with CNS tumors, yielding a prevalence of 1.58%. The distribution of primary CNS tumors among these patients was as follows: 41.7% had pituitary adenomas, 30.6% had meningiomas, 13.9% had primary CNS lymphoma, 5.6% had acoustic neuroma, and the remaining cases included epidermoid cysts (2.8%), neurofibromas (2.8%), and glioblastoma multiforme (2.8%). The mean age at tumor diagnosis was approximately 45 years, while the mean age at MS diagnosis among those who subsequently developed a CNS tumor was 31.5 years. Conclusion The overall prevalence of primary CNS tumors in our MS population was 1.58%. Meningiomas and pituitary adenomas were the most common types of CNS tumors observed in these patients. Given potential symptom overlap, new or unusual symptoms not typical of MS should be closely monitored or assessed for possible CNS malignancies.
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spelling doaj-art-2a4ed0ff909340ab87ddf426f4b095ec2025-08-20T03:06:54ZengBMCBMC Neurology1471-23772025-04-012511510.1186/s12883-025-04095-7Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosisMasih Sabouri0Masoud Etemadifar1Fatemeh Dehghani Firoozabadi2Setayesh Sindarreh3Amirhossein Akhavan-Sigari4Department of Neurosurgery, Alzahra University HospitalDepartment of Neurosurgery, Alzahra University HospitalDepartment of Neurosurgery, Alzahra University HospitalCancer Prevention Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Neurosurgery, Alzahra University HospitalAbstract Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neuroinflammatory disorder that can present with clinical and radiological features indistinguishable from a central nervous system (CNS) tumor. Previous studies suggest that whilepatients with MS have a reduced overall risk of cancer, they may have an increased risk of developing CNS malignancies. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, we investigated the prevalence of CNS tumors in patients with MS using data from the Isfahan MS clinic registry between 2020 and 2023 who had been diagnosed with primary CNS tumors following their diagnosis of MS. Results Among the 2,280 registered patients, 36 individuals were diagnosed with CNS tumors, yielding a prevalence of 1.58%. The distribution of primary CNS tumors among these patients was as follows: 41.7% had pituitary adenomas, 30.6% had meningiomas, 13.9% had primary CNS lymphoma, 5.6% had acoustic neuroma, and the remaining cases included epidermoid cysts (2.8%), neurofibromas (2.8%), and glioblastoma multiforme (2.8%). The mean age at tumor diagnosis was approximately 45 years, while the mean age at MS diagnosis among those who subsequently developed a CNS tumor was 31.5 years. Conclusion The overall prevalence of primary CNS tumors in our MS population was 1.58%. Meningiomas and pituitary adenomas were the most common types of CNS tumors observed in these patients. Given potential symptom overlap, new or unusual symptoms not typical of MS should be closely monitored or assessed for possible CNS malignancies.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-025-04095-7Multiple sclerosisCNS tumorsBrain tumorsDisease-modifying therapies
spellingShingle Masih Sabouri
Masoud Etemadifar
Fatemeh Dehghani Firoozabadi
Setayesh Sindarreh
Amirhossein Akhavan-Sigari
Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis
BMC Neurology
Multiple sclerosis
CNS tumors
Brain tumors
Disease-modifying therapies
title Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis
title_full Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis
title_fullStr Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis
title_full_unstemmed Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis
title_short Primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis
title_sort primary central nervous system tumors in patients with multiple sclerosis
topic Multiple sclerosis
CNS tumors
Brain tumors
Disease-modifying therapies
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12883-025-04095-7
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AT setayeshsindarreh primarycentralnervoussystemtumorsinpatientswithmultiplesclerosis
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