Prepare for the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) Exam with flashcards and multiple-choice questions. Each question includes insights and explanations to help you excel. Get ready for your certification journey!

Multiple Choice

Which brain tumor is more common in women and tends to grow slowly?

Meningiomas are typically slow-growing tumors that arise from the meninges, the coverings surrounding the brain. They occur more often in women, a pattern linked to hormonal influences and receptor expression in these tumors. Most meningiomas are benign (WHO grade I) and grow slowly, often causing symptoms later as they press on adjacent brain tissue. They are usually extra-axial and dural-based, with imaging features like a dural tail on MRI, and presentation often includes seizures or focal neurological deficits depending on location. Astrocytomas and glioblastoma originate within brain tissue itself and tend to progress more quickly—glioblastoma, in particular, is highly aggressive with a rapid clinical course, not the slow growth described. Hemangioblastomas are vascular tumors that can be slow-growing and are commonly located in the cerebellum; they’re also associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease and do not show the same female predominance as meningiomas. So the description of being more common in women and growing slowly best fits a meningioma.

Meningiomas are typically slow-growing tumors that arise from the meninges, the coverings surrounding the brain. They occur more often in women, a pattern linked to hormonal influences and receptor expression in these tumors. Most meningiomas are benign (WHO grade I) and grow slowly, often causing symptoms later as they press on adjacent brain tissue. They are usually extra-axial and dural-based, with imaging features like a dural tail on MRI, and presentation often includes seizures or focal neurological deficits depending on location.

Astrocytomas and glioblastoma originate within brain tissue itself and tend to progress more quickly—glioblastoma, in particular, is highly aggressive with a rapid clinical course, not the slow growth described. Hemangioblastomas are vascular tumors that can be slow-growing and are commonly located in the cerebellum; they’re also associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease and do not show the same female predominance as meningiomas.

So the description of being more common in women and growing slowly best fits a meningioma.