A brain tumor that looked like a stroke
Original title: Glioblastoma mimicking acute stroke: A case report and diagnostic challenges.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a write-up of one patient's case, not a new treatment.
The short version
A woman's brain tumor was first thought to be a stroke, which shows how easy the mix-up can be.
What was studied. Doctors wrote up one patient's case. She was a 71-year-old woman who came to the hospital with signs that looked like a stroke.
What they found. Her speech was impaired and she was confused and disoriented. She also had brief mild weakness on her right side, and her symptoms had gotten worse over one week. A CT scan and an MRI showed a mass in her brain, and a biopsy confirmed glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4, the highest grade. It grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. The report notes that 20-40% of people first diagnosed with stroke in the emergency room turn out not to have had one, and brain tumors make up about 5% of those cases.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Symptoms that come on like a stroke can sometimes come from a brain tumor instead. Scans and a biopsy are what tell them apart. This patient was not able to have cancer treatment. She got supportive care and rehab, and she left the hospital able to walk with help from a caregiver.
What it doesn't mean: This is one person's story, not a study or a new treatment. It does not tell us how common this is, and it is not a cure or a promise about anyone else's case. Nothing here changes the care you get today. If you have sudden stroke-like symptoms, still get emergency help right away.
Source: PubMed, January 1, 2026 · Read the original
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