• Question: Can having a head injury lead to a tumour forming?

    Asked by xheneta1 to Lou, Simon, Susan on 22 Nov 2013.
    • Photo: Simon Langley-Evans

      Simon Langley-Evans answered on 22 Nov 2013:

      Xheneta- thats an interesting question. I think that the answer is no. Tumours form because the DNA in a cell is damaged and this means the systems that stop it from dividing over and over and over again no longer work. Cells and DNA are too small to be influenced by a head injury and instead are damaged by things like radiation or chemicals that we are exposed to.

    • Photo: Susan Skelton

      Susan Skelton answered on 22 Nov 2013:

      This is an interesting question, xheneta1!

      Scientists have been looking at possible links between head injury and brain tumours for a long time, but they’re still not entirely sure whether or not head injuries can lead to brain tumours.

      We do know that most people who have a serious head injury will NOT go on to get a brain tumour. But scientists are still not sure if, in a very few cases, a brain injury could make someone slightly more likely to get a brain tumour.

      Some studies have found a link between serious head injury and a specific type of brain tumour called meningioma, but they didn’t find a link to any other types of brain tumours.

      It is difficult for scientists to know for sure though, because brain injuries can cause seizures which have to be treated with medicine. No-one knows whether it is the medicine for the seizures or the brain injury that causes a few brain injury patients to get a brain tumour.

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