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Several other conditions may produce signs and symptoms similar to those of a brain tumor and must be considered as possible causes in the differential diagnosis. The term "differential diagnosis" refers to a list of diseases or other underlying causes that have overlapping symptoms and must be ruled-out before reaching a definitive diagnosis. Other conditions that can produce signs and symptoms that are similar to a brain tumor include:

• Headaches - other underlying causes of headaches (tension, migraine, cluster, or vascular headaches)
• Seizures - other underlying causes of seizures (epilepsy, adverse reactions to medications, alcohol withdrawal, low-blood sugar, among others)
• Brain hematomas - pooling of blood in an area of the brain
• Vascular brain malformations - conditions that affect the blood vessels in the brain
• Multiple sclerosis
• Stroke or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs)
• Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy - a rare nervous system disorder caused by a virus that is characterized by the destruction of the myelin sheath that covers nerve cells
• Primary central nervous system lymphoma - a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that affects the central nervous system