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Posts Tagged ‘Brain cancer’

Brain cancer is a tumor that develops at the expense of the brain. Whether located in the brain or elsewhere in the body, a tumor composed of a mass of cells which reproduce themselves in an uncontrolled way. Tumors can be either benign or malignant.

Benign brain tumors are abnormal collections of cells which reproduce slowly and are most often isolated from surrounding normal brain tissue. These tumors grow slowly, do not spread to other parts of the brain and are generally easier to excise the malignant tumors. Malignant tumors grow and multiply rapidly. It is difficult to delineate these tumors compared to surrounding normal brain tissue. For this reason it is difficult to remove them completely without damaging the surrounding brain. We can classify benign and malignant tumors in different groups, depending on the type of cells from which they emerge.

Can be classified as benign tumors following:

• Chordomas, whose origin lies in embryonic cells of the spinal cord or the base of the cranial nerve.
• Hemangioblastomas, which begin in blood vessels.
• Meningiomas, starting in the membrane covering the brain.
• Osteomas in the bone of the skull.
• The pinealomas in the pineal gland.
• The pituitary adenoma in the pituitary.
• The schwannomas, in cells that surround nerves.

Some types of tumors such as meningiomas (arising from the meninges, the lining surrounding the brain) or germ cell tumors can be benign in some cases and malignant in others.

This article focuses on brain tumors malignant (cancerous).

Brain cancers are relatively rare but often fatal. They are the second leading cause of mortality among children under 20 years.

• Malignant brain tumors the most common are gliomas, where cells called glia (support cells for nerve cells) become cancerous.
• Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common of the gliomas. Glioblastoma multiforme and anaplastic astrocytoma are fast-growing gliomas.
• Oligodendroglioma, another type of glioma, is also rare, occurs mainly in adults. Gliomas are clasified between 50% and 60% of all brain tumors (malignant and benign), children and adults alike.
• Medulloblastoma, which is derived cells of the spinal cord at the base of the brain, is the type of brain tumor most common in children. It occurs most often before puberty.

Finally, sarcoma and adenocarcinoma are two kinds of extremely rare brain tumor.

The exact cause of cancer remains unknown. Is  called a primary brain tumor,  brain cancer that starts in the brain it self. It can spread to surrounding areas of the brain and destroy them. Breast cancer, lung, skin, or blood cells (leukemia or lymphoma) can also spread (metastasize) to the brain, causing metastatic brain cancer. These groups of cancerous cells may then multiply in a single region or in different parts of the brain.
Symptoms and Complications

Brain cancer causes symptoms when it pushes on the brain that destroys brain tissue. Symptoms depend on the size and location of the tumor, and the speed at which it multiplies. Although headaches are often a symptom of brain cancer, it is important to remember that most headaches are not caused by cancer but are caused by less serious conditions such as migraine or tension. Headaches caused by brain tumors are often severe, associated with nausea and vomiting and often worse early in the day. They can last long or occur intermittently.

Other symptoms include:

• Dizziness
• Impaired vision as double vision
• Impaired coordination
• Weakness or numbness on one side of body
• Seizures
• Changes in mood, senses, personality or feelings
• Impaired memory
• A state of confusion or difficulty concentrating

The presence of the above symptoms may lead a physician to suspect brain cancer. A CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the first examinations to be performed to properly diagnose a brain cancer, whatever the type. These specialized radiological examinations can detect many types of brain tumors and determine their location and size accurately. However, they do not determine whether the tumor is cancerous or not.

We must perform a biopsy to determine if the tumor is cancerous. For this, we take a sample of the tumor during surgery. If the tumor is too deep in the brain, surgeons can use a technique called stereotactic biopsy or establishment of the needle through three-dimensional approach. This technique uses an MRI to create a three dimensional image of the brain that are then used to guide a needle contained in a special case to the appropriate region of the brain. It sucks and is collected tumor cells in the needle for analysis. Once collected, we analyze the biopsy sample using microscopes and special chemicals to determine the type of tumor. It usually takes several days before obtaining the results of a biopsy.

We may sometimes collect cells of brain tumors in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a special fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. CSF samples are taken using a thin needle that is inserted in the lower back under local anesthesia, this procedure is called a lumbar puncture. We can do this procedure when too much pressure accumulates in the brain. Indeed, the pressure change resulting from the brain drain may cause aspiration of part of the brain tissue at the base of the skull, causing serious complications.