Brain MRI Findings in Neurological Complications of Cancer Treatment

The amount of people living with cancer is increasing; they live longer and have thus a higher risk of developing neurological complications. Magnetic resonance as a diagnostic procedure of choice in detecting the reasons of neurological/psychiatric symptoms in oncological patients is nowadays relatively easily accessible. Early diagnosis established by radiologists familiar with neurological entities that may follow cancer treatment allow clinicians to provide proper treatment, even if the diagnosis seems unbelievable. The review of MR images of acute and chronic neurological complications of cancer treatment from the authors' own archive is the focus of this report. Neurological complications of cancer can be metastatic and non-metastatic; the first cannot be considered as a treatment complication, the latter can be chemoor radiotherapy-induced, acute, chronic and delayed. In our material we dealt with complications with dramatic course (stroke, PRES, acute leukoencephalopathy, Wernicke's encephalopathy) and with cases with milder and/or longer course (neuro-infections, chronic leukoencephalopathy, telangiectasias and/or cavernous hemangiomas, second tumors: glioma and meningioma after irradiation). The central nervous system is very susceptible to complications of systemic cancer and its treatment. Even though the first thought of clinicians and radiologists after a patient's first neurological/psychiatric symptoms appears concerns the metastatic spread of the disease, they need to have an understanding that there are a number of other causes of such symptoms. The knowledge of entities which can be expected and diagnostic experience prevent clinicians from making wrong diagnosis.