biostudies-literatureZienius KThe Brain Tumour Charity127https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8978365biostudies-literatureUnknown22(1)<h4>Background</h4>Patients with brain tumours often present with non-specific symptoms. Correctly identifying who to prioritise for urgent brain imaging is challenging. Brain tumours are amongst the commonest cancers diagnosed as an emergency presentation. A verbal fluency task (VFT) is a rapid triage test affected by disorders of executive function, language and processing speed. We tested whether a VFT could support identification of patients with a brain tumour.<h4>Methods</h4>This proof-of-concept study examined whether a VFT can help differentiate patients with a brain tumour from those with similar symptoms (i.e. headache) without a brain tumour. Two patient populations were recruited, (a) patients with known brain tumour, and (b) patients with headache referred for Direct-Access CoBMC neurologyVerbal fluency as a quick and simple tool to help in deciding when to refer patients with a possible brain tumour.PMC8978365GN-000295Hollingworth WBrennan PMPorteous LGrant ROzawa MBen-Shlomo YHamilton WWeller DZienius KfalseVerbal fluency as a quick and simple tool to help in deciding when to refer patients with a possible brain tumour.<h4>Background</h4>Patients with brain tumours often present with non-specific symptoms. Correctly identifying who to prioritise for urgent brain imaging is challenging. Brain tumours are amongst the commonest cancers diagnosed as an emergency presentation. A verbal fluency task (VFT) is a rapid triage test affected by disorders of executive function, language and processing speed. We tested whether a VFT could support identification of patients with a brain tumour.<h4>Methods</h4>This proof-of-concept study examined whether a VFT can help differentiate patients with a brain tumour from those with similar symptoms (i.e. headache) without a brain tumour. Two patient populations were recruited, (a) patients with known brain tumour, and (b) patients with headache referred for Direct-Access Co2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Apr2025-05-29T21:26:08.079Z2025-05-29T21:26:08.079ZS-EPMC89783653537918210.1186/s12883-022-02655-9