All About Brain Cancer

There is a disease that grows malignant cells in the brain – it is called brain cancer. It is a life-threatening disease that is the leading cause of death in our country. Statistics say that 35,000 Americans were diagnosed with primary brain cancer in 2004, and another 150,000 people with brain tumors have already spread it to the other parts of their body.

Brain cancer is a mysterious disease. The exact cause is still unknown but experts say that these factors contribute to the development of brain cancer: radiation, various toxins in the environment, stress, HIV infection, cigarette smoking and genetics.

If the findings of your physical examination and medical interview suggest that you may have a problem in the brain or brain stem, following tests may be done.

- In most cases, you will have a CT scan of the brain. CAT or CT scans are special x-ray tests that produce cross-sectionalor three dimensional images of the body using x-rays and a computer. A harmless dye is injected into your bloodstream so that the abnormalities are highlighted on the scan.

- Routine laboratory tests, like blood analysis, liver function tests, electrolytes, and a blood coagulation profile, may be performed since people with brain cancer often have other medical problems. Blood or urine tests may be done to detect drug use, if your main symptom is a change in mental status.

to be continued…

Description

Brain cancer is a tumor or tumors that form on the brain itself. Most brain tumors have spread to the brain from other affected parts of the body (such as the breast or the lung) via the blood-stream. Only a small percentage of brain cancer cases originate in the brain.

In its early stages, brain cancer often produces no symptoms, or it displays symptoms that are mistaken for everyday headaches. As a result, the condition is often quite advanced before it is detected. Brain cancer is a very serious condition that can cause extensive neurological damage or death.

The exact cause of brain cancer is unknown, but heredity is suspected to play a role in its development.

Signs and Symptoms

Brain cancer is usually asymptomatic until the tumor reaches a certain size. At that point, symptoms include:

Persistent headaches

Vomiting

General weakness, or localized weakness in the arms or legs

Loss of coordination

Dizziness

Change in personality

Loss of mental abilities, including memory

Double vision, or loss of vision

Seizures

Conventional Medical Treatment

If you suspect you have a brain tumor, see a physician immediately. A CAT scan or MRI of the head can usually confirm the presence of a tumor and pinpoint its location. If a tumor is found, the physician may take a CAT scan of the chest and abdomen to make sure the cancer has not affected other areas of the body. If the tumor is localized and is situated in an area where removal is possible (on the outer surface of the brain, for example), surgery may be performed. However, some tumors-particularly those located deep within the brain tissue-cannot be operated on. In these cases, radiation and chemotherapy will be used to destroy cancerous cells. (See “Conventional Medical Treatment” in the “Bladder Cancer” entry for more information on radiation and chemotherapy.)

Complementary and Alternative Treatments

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Acupressure By pressing on certain acupressure points along the body’s meridians, a practitioner may be able to reduce cancer-related pain and headaches.

Chinese Herbal Therapy Traditional Chinese Medicine considers any type of tumor formation the result of stagnant blood, so a practitioner may recommend formulas that energize blood flow and strengthen the immune system, such as Ginseng and Astragals Formula. In cases of brain cancer, an herbalist may prescribe the Chinese formula called Three Yellows.

Pain killers for cancer patients may be taken orally or intravenously. These medications may have side effects and put a strain on the kidneys and livers. Complementary and alternative medication techniques are being used hand in hand with traditional medication. This is to avoid the necessity to increase dosage to medications and reduce pain.

Some of the alternative pain management methods are: traditional Chinese acupuncture where pressure points are stimulated to trigger the release of natural painkillers in the body; massage which helps relieve pain, stress and depression; herbal supplements which help relieve inflammations and pain; and mind-body techniques such as yoga, hypnosis, deep breathing and guided imagery.

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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 in the area. Sometimes, patients who cannot have surgery have radiation therapy instead. The treatment schedule depends on the type and size of the tumor and the age of the patient. Each treatment lasts only a few minutes.

Nausea is the most common side effect of radiotherapy, and this can sometimes last for hours. Other side effects include hair loss, and redness and dryness of the skin around the area being treated.

Each year cancer research programs continue to grow: funding increases, new technologies make year-old discoveries obsolete, and more doctors and scientists contribute their ideas and methods to understanding and eradicating cancer. As these strides are made, more treatment options become available and fewer people are forced to endure painful and invasive treatments.

Radiosurgery is a non-invasive, non-surgical treatment of brain cancer that allows doctors to direct beams of radiation to precise locations in order to focus it directly over a brain tumor. This method can help treat and remove intracranial tumors that would otherwise not be accessible for open surgery.

Choosing radiosurgery as an option over more invasive routines is the method of choice for some patients, but is more likely to be a necessity for patients with certain types of tumors that are not easily accessed through open surgery — such as skull base tumors.

Radiosurgery often uses the Leksell Gamma Knife which concentrates gamma radiation to the targeted portion of the patient’s brain. The radiation is so concentrated that, while some residual radiation exists, the vast majority of it is focused onto a much smaller area, thus degenerating the affected area and leaving the rest of the brain unaffected.

The Leksell Gamma Knife form of radiotherapy has been known to work with only one treatment.

What to Expect When Entering Radiation Therapy

Although there are many different types of radiation treatments, radiosurgery focusing specifically on the treatment of head, neck, and brain cancers, the side effects of general radiotherapy and radiosurgery will be very similar.

With radiosurgery, because the radiation is focused around the head and brain area, the patient can often expect to lose hair as a result of the treatment. Other side effects may include a reddening if the skin around the treated area where the radiation beams are passed through, physical fatigue (patients may feel tired more often than normal and sleep longer hours), nausea, and decreased immune response requiring that patients avoid being in public as much as possible to minimize the possibility of catching a virus or other sickness.

When used to treat cancer, radiation therapy is often administered in conjunction with surgery and chemotherapy. In operable cases, surgery may be conducted to remove as much of the cancer as possible, then treatment is followed up by radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancer cells. The same is true of treatment in conjunction with chemotherapy.

In some cases, a combination of all three treatments will be used. In cases where the threat is not as immediate, radiation therapy alone may be the only treatment necessary.

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 melt and release the drug to the surrounding tissues.

The most common side effects include fever and chills, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, and weakness. Some side effects may be relieved with medicine.

Cancer cells and normal cells are known to respond differently to nutrients and drugs that affect glutathione status.

Numerous studies have shown that tumor cells have elevated levels of glutathione levels, which confers resistance to chemotherapy drugs.

One of the challenges of cancer therapy is how to deplete tumor cells of glutathione, so as to make them more vulnerable to the effects of chemotherapy drugs, while at the same time allowing normal cells to remain relatively unaffected by chemotherapeutic drugs.

A number of new findings have emerged that take into consideration the role of glutathione in pathways that promote programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells.

A German study has reported that glutathione (GSH) plays a critical role in cellular mechanisms that result in cell death. The study found that cancer cells resistant to apoptosis had higher intracellular GSH levels.

Depletion of glutathione in these tumor cells made them more vulnerable to the effects of anticancer drugs or the gene that promotes apoptosis (CD95 or APO-1/Fas). The researchers concluded that apoptosis resistance in tumor cells depends, at least in part, on intracellular GSH levels. (1)

In another study conducted in Spain, researchers found that lowering GSH concentration may be convenient not only for the efficiency of chemotherapy, but also to induce a rather fast and direct apoptosis mechanism in tumor cells. (2)

Based on that premise that the glutathione-S-transferase enzyme is expressed at high levels in many tumors, researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Pennsylvania, went on to design a novel prodrug (PABA/NO).

The glutathione-s-transferase in tumor cells converts PABA/NO to lethal nitric oxide, resulting in death of the tumor cell. The prodrug was shown to have antitumor effects in an animal model for human ovarian cancer. (3)

In the fourth study, Polish researchers found that ingesting a selenium supplement is beneficial, as a supportive element in chemotherapy. (4)

Selenium is a co-factor of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase [GSH-P(x)] and was found to significantly increase the activity of GSH-P(x) in patients reciving the supplement.

A previous clinical study by the same researchers recommended the administration of selenium in patients with ovarian cancer undergoing multi-drug chemotherapy. (5)

Another interesting study by researchers in Texas showed that your chances of surviving a type of brain cancer, called primary malignant glioma, could depend on the type of glutathione-s-transferase (GST) gene you were born with.

Having a combination of a two specific variants of GST (germ-line GSTP1*A/*A and GSTM1 null genotype) confers a survival advantage in some types of brain cancers, but also comes with an increased risk of adverse events related to chemotherapy. (6)

There is compelling evidence to suggest a crucial role for glutathione and substances that target glutathione metabolism in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Undenatured whey protein is one of the natural foods known to selectively deplete cancer cells of their glutathione, thus making them more susceptible to such cancer treatments as radiation and chemotherapy.

For a complete report on the research on undenatured whey protein and cancer see the report Glutathione (GSH) and Whey Protein in Cancer.

http://www.1whey2health.com/cancer_glutathione.htm

Disclaimer: The information here is not provided by medical professionals and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Please consult your physician before beginning any course of treatment.

References:

1. Friesen C et al. [Cell Death and Differentiation advance online publication, 23 April 2004]

2. Tormos C et al. [Cancer Lett. 2004 May 10;208(1):103-13.]

3. Findlay VJ et al. [Mol Pharmacol. 2004 May;65(5):1070-9.]

4. Sieja K et al. [Gynecol Oncol. 2004 May;93(2):320-327.]

5. Sieja K. [Pharmazie. 1998 Jul;53(7):473-6.]

6. Okcu MF et. al. [Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Apr 15;10(8):2618-25.]

Copyright ? 2004 Priya Shah

In 2005, the results of a seven-year study by the European Ramazzini Foundation for cancer research in Italy demonstrated that the chemical sweetener, aspartame , “induces an increase in lymphomas and leukemias in female rats.” This study, involving 1800 rats, demonstrated that aspartame administered at varying levels in feed causes a statistically significant increase of lymphomas-leukemias and malignant tumors of the kidneys in female rats and malignant tumors of peripheral nerves in male rats.

However, a more recent study was done by the US’ National Cancer Institute in 2006 compared people who drank aspartame-containing beverages with those who did not. The study, involving about 500,000 people, showed that increasing levels of consumption were not associated with any risk of lymphomas, leukemias, or brain cancers in men or women.

So which is which? How do we determine who to believe?

(To be continued.)

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 therapy. This is called supportive care.

Craniotomy is the surgical opening of the skull to access the brain. It is done under general anesthesia. The patient’s head is shaved, after which the surgeon makes the first incision. The surgeon then uses a special saw to remove a piece of bone from the skull. After removing part or all of the tumor, the surgeon covers the opening in the skull with that piece of bone or with a piece of metal or fabric. The surgeon then closes the incision in the scalp.

Side effects of surgery include headache, tiredness, edema or swelling in the brain, and infection.