A 42-year-old man complains of headache when he wakes up in the morning. It lasts into the afternoon and then subsides. Headache has been present for a few months. CT scan shows a frontal lobe mass with focal areas of calcification. You strongly suspect the patient has

**Core Concept**
The patient's symptoms and imaging findings suggest a diagnosis of a specific type of intracranial mass lesion, characterized by slow growth, calcification, and a typical clinical presentation.

**Why the Correct Answer is Right**
The patient's symptoms, including morning headache that lasts into the afternoon, are classic for a tumor that expands and contracts with the day. The focal areas of calcification on the CT scan are a hallmark of a meningioma. Meningiomas are typically slow-growing tumors that arise from the meninges, the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. They often present with symptoms related to compression or invasion of adjacent brain tissue, such as headache, seizures, or focal neurological deficits.

**Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect**
* **Option A:** This might be a glioblastoma, which is a fast-growing and aggressive type of brain tumor. However, glioblastomas typically do not present with morning headaches and calcification on imaging.
* **Option B:** A metastatic brain tumor could cause a frontal lobe mass, but it would not typically present with calcification or a characteristic morning headache pattern.
* **Option C:** A cerebral abscess would present with fever, headache, and possibly seizures, but it would not typically show calcification on imaging.

**Clinical Pearl / High-Yield Fact**
When considering the diagnosis of a frontal lobe mass, remember the classic description of a "morning headache that improves with the day," which is highly suggestive of a meningioma.

**Correct Answer:** C.

✓ Correct Answer: D. An oligodendroglioma