Brain Cancer

What Is Brain Cancer?

Cancer of the brain is the presence of one or more malignant tumors within the region normally occupied by the brain. These malignant brain tumors increase their size, thus pressuring brain tissues and affecting normal brain functioning.

What Is A Brain Tumor?

Simply put, a brain tumor is an unusual formation of cells grouped together inside the head. As happens with most other tumors, brain tumors can be either cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benignant). Regardless of their type, all brain tumors represent a threat to life, because of the delicate are they are located in. In other words, a brain tumor can cause death regardless of its benignant or malignant nature. The main difference between those two types resides basically in their speed of growth and their invasive nature.

Brain tumors are either primary or secondary, depending on their place of origin. A primary brain tumor is originated in the brain, while a secondary brain tumor is a result of the metastases of a cancerous tumor originated somewhere else in the body. A primary brain tumor may or may not represent cancer of the brain, while all secondary tumors are, by definition, cancer. Secondary brain tumors have a very poor prognosis.

Brain Cancer Statistics

According to the National Cancer Institute, the average incidence of cancer of the brain and nervous system in the population of the USA is of 6.4 per 100,000 individuals per year.

For both female and male population, it seems to affect a larger number of white people more than other races (male incidence: 8.3/100,000, female incidence: 5.9/100,000), followed by Hispanic people (male: 6.0/100,000, female: 4.7/100,000) and black people (male: 4.9/100,000, female: 3.5/100,000). Counting all races, male individuals are more likely to develop brain and other nervous system cancer, with an incidence of 7.7 versus 5.4, per 100,000 individuals.

As for mortality, cancer of the brain and other nervous system is responsible of 5.4 out of 100,000 males in the US, and of 3.6 out of 100,000 female deaths. Brain cancer is the leading cause of death in people under 35.

Causes And Diagnosis Of Brain Cancer And Brain Tumors

There are no demonstrated environmental causes of brain cancers and tumors, although there is a known association between cancer of the brain and exposure to vinyl chloride and its derivatives (used in the manufacture of plastic products, also present in tobacco smoke). Non-environmental agents and factors associated with the development of brain tumors are certain inherited diseases, like multiple endocrine neoplasia, retinoblastoma, neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis. Patients with a history of any kind of cancer have a high risk of developing secondary brain tumors.

Symptoms Of Brain Cancer And Brain Tumors

The brain is an extremely delicate organ, divided in sections that perform specific functions. The symptoms of brain cancer and tumors vary according to the area of the brain those tumors are located in, and which brain sectors they affect. Brain tumors often remain undetected until symptoms show up.

These symptoms may include emotional unbalance, behavioral change, sensory loss (i.e. vision, smell, hearing, etc), impaired judgment, decreased mental capabilities, partial or total memory loss, consciousness disorders, paralysis of one or both sides of the body, speech disorders, inability to write, inability to associate images with objects (i.e. the patient knows what is a tree but can neither recognize a picture of a tree, nor the written word “tree”, or even the sound of the word “tree”), space/time disorientation, seizures, vomiting, muscular spasms, headache, incontinence, imaging disorders (dysphasia or aphasia, i.e. the patient associates the picture of a tree with a dog, or is unable to relate one tree with another tree, considering them two completely unrelated things) , hormonal unbalance, motor dysfunction, and many more.

Diagnosis of brain cancer is made by performing a CT scan, a PET scan, or a MRI scan, as all these techniques provide effective detection and diagnosis data. Once a tumor is detected, the doctor usually performs a biopsy to evaluate the tumor tissue and assess possible treatments.

Treatment Of Brain Cancer And Brain Tumors

As with any type of cancer, treatment consists on a combination of radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, although non-cancerous tumors can often be eliminated by chemical or radiological means only.

Surgery is performed when the tumor is accessible and the patient is in good health conditions to face the procedure. Particularly dangerous due to the placement of the tumor and the nature of the delicate surrounding tissues, the surgical procedure used in brain tumor treatment is called craniotomy. It consists on opening the skull by temporary removing the top of the head, for which a bone saw must be used. The goal of the surgery is to remove as much tumor as possible, without of course damaging the brain. This may be done with a regular blade, or by laser.

When the tumor is unreachable or non-operable, radiation therapy is used to fight the brain cancer. It consists in bombing the tumor with high-powered radio waves. This therapy is also used to complement surgery, to eliminate any hidden cancer cells that may still be in the brain.

Chemotherapy is less effective for brain cancer than it is for other cancers, due to the blood/brain barrier (a special barrier that isolates the nervous system from most chemicals carried by the blood). It’s used in conjunction with radiation to treat secondary brain tumors, as the probability of this type of brain cancer coming back is so high that it doesn’t justify performing a craniotomy.

Bookmarks
Bookmark This |