Primary and metastatic brain tumours in hereditary cancer syndromes: case reports with and literature review

BACKGROUND: Cancer family syndromes can predispose to malignancies of different sites, including brain and spinal tumours. Germline mutations associated with a high risk of cancer can also be found in patients with metastatic tumours of the brain. We present a few such cases, underscoring the importance of DNA germline testing in all primary and metastatic brain tumours. CASE PRESENTATIONS: We report four cases illustrating the role of DNA testing in intervention decisions in families of patients with both primary and secondary brain tumours. In this article, we included a case of Li-Fraumeni, Lynch, and von Hippel-Lindau syndromes, as well as a metastatic widespread example of BRCA1-related ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS: In all primary and metastatic brain tumours, genetic testing for germline mutations of high-risk cancers should be considered.