All About Brain Cancer

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There are different types of brain tumours but a specific type of brain tumour called an acoustic neuroma, sometimes referred to as a vestibular schwannoma or neurilemoma is a benign tumour that develops from the lining of the auditory nerve or the acoustic nerve which is responsible for balance and hearing. They are most likely to be found in middle aged adults. It is more common in women than in men for unknown reasons.
General signs of a brain tumour are headaches, tiredness, lack of energy and changes in personality are rarely seen in people with an acoustic neuroma. The common symptom of it is loss of hearing in the affected ear, accompanied by a buzzing or ringing noise. Usually people who have this type of brain tumour affect both sides of the brain.

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Cancers of the brain are abnormal growths of cells in the brain. Cancer is a term reserved for malignant tumors. Not all brain tumors cause symptoms, and some are found mainly after death. The symptoms of brain tumors are numerous and not specific to brain tumors, meaning they can be caused by many other illnesses as well. The only way to know for sure what is causing the symptoms is to undergo diagnostic testing. The symptoms are caused by the tumor pressing on or encroaching on other parts of your brain and keeping them from functioning normally. Some symptoms are caused by swelling in the brain caused by the tumor or surrounding inflammation. The symptoms of primary and metastatic brain cancers are similar.

A cousin of mine had a brain tumor. His was malignant and had to be removed. At first the symptom he should was peeing all the time and extreme headaches and Nausea which urged to vomit. He went to the doctor and had an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). The scan indicate the presence of brain tumor. To now if it’s malignant a biopsy procedure is done. A biopsy is a sample of tissue removed by your doctor to make a precise diagnosis. A small hole is then made in the skull and a needle guided through the hole to the tumor. The needle collects the biopsy and is removed. This technique is called stereotaxis, or stereotactic biopsy. Biopsy procedures can range from a simple sampling of skin under local anesthesia to surgical opening of the chest wall to remove a portion of lung or brain tissue.
He said it was painful because it was done while he’s wide awake.

Treatment for brain cancer depends on the type and location of the tumor. Treatment involves any combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Some tumors require several different surgical procedures, and some can be treated with radiation alone. For my cousin at that time, laser microsurgery, was the treatment of choice for his type of cancer. MRI is used to pinpoint the location of the tumor and a laser is used to destroy the tumor. This procedure may be used after craniotomy to remove remaining tumor tissue. He was given another five years of normal life. He went biking and enjoyed life with frequent visits to the doctor for maintenance.

In all cancer patients story it is not always as happy as we would want it to be. After five years the doctor discovered that the laser instead of dissolving the tumor into oblivion it breakdown into smaller pieces and spread into different parts of his brain.
He decided not to try another procedure but rather enjoy the remaining time of his life. He died two years after. In any procedure there is always a risk involve and the doctor will inform us about it. We always just hope for the best.

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There are two main types of brain tumors: those that start in the brain (primary) and those that spread from cancer somewhere else in the body (metastasis). Primary brain tumors happen less often, and when they do, they are mostly malignant (cancerous). A malignant tumor is a mass or clump of cancer cells that keeps growing; it doesn’t do anything except feed off the body so it can grow.

The largest group of primary brain tumors is gliomas (glee-OH-muhs). There are several kinds of gliomas: astrocytomas, which grow anywhere in the brain or spinal cord; brain stem gliomas, which arise in the lowest part of the brain; ependymomas, which develop inside the brain, in the lining of the ventricles, and oligodendrogliomas, which usually grow in the cerebrum (very rare, representing just 3% of all primary brain tumors). An advanced astrocytoma is called glioblastoma; these represent 23% of all primary brain tumors.

For those people with brain cancer but cannot have surgery as advised by their doctor can have radiation therapy, though there are some patients that also have to go through it even after surgery to kill tumor cells that may have remained in the body. The frequency and schedule of treatment will usually depend on the size and type of the tumor found. The doctor will also consider the age of the patient.

Radiotherapy uses high-power gamma rays, protons or x-rays that will kill the cancer cells. A large machine will be aimed at the tumor and the treatment will last for only a few minutes.

A clinical trial to evaluate a brain cancer vaccine in newly-diagnosed brain cancer patients has begun at NYU Medical Center. The study will assess the effect of giving the vaccine following standard therapy with surgery and chemotherapy in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is a form of brain cancer which is highly life-threatening.

The vaccine, called DCVax-Brain, incorporates proteins found in patients’ tumors and is designed to attack cancer cells containing these proteins. The study underway at NYU Medical Center is an expansion of an earlier phase I trial of the vaccine.

The trial will enroll patients 18 to 65 years old with newly diagnosed GBM. These will receive standard primary treatment with surgery, followed by radiation with concurrent chemotherapy. Enrolled patients will be randomized to receive the standard of care, and others will receive the standard of care plus the vaccine.

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The radiation therapy can be administered in different ways. External radiation uses a high-energy radiation to pinpoint the tumor. The beam travels to different layers before reaching the tumor itself. It passes through the skin, skull, healthy brain tissue before reaching the tumor. The treatment lasts for about four to six weeks, given five days a week and will usually last for only a few minutes.
The other kind of radiation technique is the internal or implant radiation, where the surgeon uses a small radioactive capsule which is placed inside the tumor itself. The radiation that comes from the capsule is what will kill the tumor and the radiation will decrease a little bit each day. The patient will need to stay in the hospital for a few days while undergoing this treatment.

The patient will undergo several procedures and treatments before the actual surgery. To relieve the swelling, the patient will be given a steroid drug such as dexamethasone. If in any case there is an excess of cerebrospinal fluid around the brain, a thin plastic tube is placed to drain the fluid. The end of the tube is placed in another part of the body wherein the fluid can be easily eliminated.

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy rays to eliminate the tumor and kill the abnormal cells and to prevent them from coming back. It is often used for people who cannot undergo surgery, or sometimes used after the surgery to eliminate tumors that are left.

Most brain cancer patients undergo a surgery. The purpose of the surgery is to indeed confirm that the growing mass or the abnormality seen in the brain is a tumor. If in any case the tumor cannot be removed, the surgeon will take a small part to identify the type of the tumor.

When the tumor is benign, the neurosurgeon will attempt to remove the tumor whenever it is possible to do so. A new ‘knifeless’ technique is being used nowadays. Stereotactic surgery destroys the tumor without opening the skull. The patient undergoes CTI or MRI scan to pinpoint the exact location of the tumor. High energy radiation is pointed to the tumor at different angles and the radiation destroys the tumor.

Brain cancer treatment depends on the age, general health, and the size and location of the tumor. The type of the tumor and other medical conditions of the patient is also a factor.

The treatment of brain cancer is usually complex and may involve consultation to several different doctors. This team of doctors usually includes a neurosurgeon, who are specialists in the brain and nervous system, and the primary health-care provider. The team will also consist of a dietician, a social worker, a physical therapist and other specialists.

The most widely used treatments nowadays are surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

The secondary brain tumor occurs when cancer starts from another part of your body and starts to spread in your brain. Some may occur when the person has a history of cancer when a brain tumor is discovered.

Brain cancer can occur at any age between 3-12 and 40-70 years old. Ever since researchers have acquired this data, they have discovered some risk factors. Workers in industries such as rubber and plastic manufacturing, drug manufacturing and oil refining are in much greater risk than those working in other industries. They are also still studying if brain cancer is hereditary since some occur in the members of the same family.