Are all brain tumors cancer?

No. Brain and spinal cord tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign means the tumor is not cancer, while malignant means the tumor is cancer.

Brain and spinal cord tumors are also known as central nervous system (CNS) tumors. There are many different CNS tumor types, and the type helps guide how a tumor is treated.

Your healthcare team is the best source of information about whether a specific tumor is benign or malignant and what that means.