Milieu-specific vascular changes in malignant brain tumours

Changes in blood-vessels, in configuration similar to arteriosclerosis, are found in malignant gliomas, especially in glioblastomas, as well as in metastases of carcinomas. Since analogous changes in vessel walls were not seen in primary tumours pertaining to cerebral metastases and in metastases of the body, this can obviously be considered as a phenomenon milieu-specific in nature. It is reasoned that this phenomenon can essentially be attributed to decomposition of medullary substance and influx of resulting disintegration products (lipids and cholesterol) into the vessel walls.