Patients who are diagnosed with brain cancer have several options, depending on the tumor type and stage. Patients may receive surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy. Often, management approach is a combination of any of the three. In addition, patient may require treatment of other problems that arise from the main illness or as side effects of [...]
The most famous brain cancer treatment is chemotherapy. It involves the use of drugs, which may be given through injection or taken orally, to kill the cancer cells. Sometimes, the surgeon implants medicated wafer with chemotherapy drugs during surgery. After removing the tumor and closing the surgery wound, the wafer will melt and release poison [...]
Continuous research on brain tumor led to a discovery that cancer stem cells that cause the tumor to develop are living within blood vessels in the brain. Stem cells have the ability to reproduce. The aim is to destroy the cancer stem cells to prevent further production of the damaging cells. The blood vessels where [...]
Radiation therapy uses high-power x-rays, gamma rays, or protons to kill cancer cells. A large machine aims radiation at the tumor and the tissue close to it. Sometimes the radiation may be directed to the entire brain or to the spinal cord. Radiation therapy usually follows surgery. The radiation kills tumor cells that may remain [...]
Chemotherapy refers to the use of drugs to kill cancer cells in the brain. The drugs may be given orally or through injection. Chemotherapy is done at regular intervals, with adequate time spacing to allow the patient to recover. Sometimes, during surgery, the surgeon implants medicated wafer after removing the tumor. This wafer will eventually [...]
Cancer researchers in Canada have identified the gene that is responsible for medulloblastoma which is considered to be the most common form of childhood brain cancer. They have successfully identified eight genes that have the ability to mutate bringing about brain cancer in younger people which can give them new avenues to pursue in childhood [...]
Image Source: science.nationalgeographic.com 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]