All About Brain Cancer

Researchers are finding that there is a very likely link between cancer stem cells and their ability to incite other cells to grow malignant all over the body. Once hailed as the super-cell of the human body which got it into the spotlight for it’s rejuvenatory abilities, it has also been found that it can increase the occurrence of tumors in the brain. Their ability to turn into the several hundred or so types of cells in the human body has attracted the attention of researchers, who have found a sinister side to these wondrous super cells. One who has breast cancer or a form of the disease elsewhere may be more susceptible to developing brain tumors as seen in several studies. These findings are being used to develop better screening procedures for brain cancers allowing early detection with the best possible chances of recovery.

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Robert Muller is Germany’s premiere ice hockey goal tender in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Muller was recently diagnosed with an incurable, malignant type of brain cancer. Despite his dangerous condition, he continues to play his favorite sport. It is to note that Muller had an operation in 2006 which removed some parts of the tumor and went on to play in the arena while he was undergoing chemotherapy sessions. In an amazing feat, he played well in Germany’s behalf at the championship event in Canada. The tumor began to grow again last summer and he recently went on his second operation. He continues to play up to this day and is continuing to inspire people.

写真提供 : science.nationalgeographic.com

脳の癌は脳の中の細胞が異常に成長したものです。 癌とは悪性腫瘍に限られた用語です。 全ての脳腫瘍が症状を起こすわけではなく、大抵死後発見されるものもあります。脳腫瘍の症状は様々で脳腫瘍にはっきり限定されているものはなく、他の多くの病気によって起こるものもあります。症状の原因となっているものを特定する唯一の方法は、診断テストを受けることです。腫瘍の圧迫や脳の他の部分への侵食、又正常な機能が出来ないことが原因で起こる症状もあります。腫瘍や周囲の炎症が起こす脳内の腫れが原因で起こる症状もあります。初期と転移性の脳腫瘍の症状は似かよっています。

私のいとこには脳腫瘍がありました。 彼の腫瘍は悪性で除去する必要がありました。 最初の症状は、いつでも尿意を感じ激しい頭痛と嘔吐をもよおす吐き気でした。 彼は医者へ行きMRI (磁気共鳴影像法)を受けました。 その精密検査で脳腫瘍が発見されました。 今まで悪性かどうか生検方法がなされています。 正検とは主治医に細胞組織の試料を取ってもらい精密な検査をしてもらうことです。 頭蓋骨に小さな穴を開けそこから針で腫瘍に針を通し、 針が生体組織を取り除きます。 この技術は定位固定、または定位正検と呼ばれます。 生検方法には、局部麻酔による簡単な皮ふの試料から、肺尖部あるいは脳組織を取り除くために胸壁の外科的開口を行うものまでさまざまです。
いとこによると目覚めている時に行われたため痛みがともなったそうです。

脳腫瘍の治療は腫瘍のタイプとその位置によります。 治療には外科手術、放射線療法、化学療法が組み合わされます。 腫瘍の中にはいくつかの異なった外科手術を必要とするものもあり、中には放射線療法のみで治療出来るものもあります。 当時、レーザー微小手術がいとこの腫瘍タイプに治療法として選ばれました。 MRIは腫瘍の位置を特定するために使用され、レーザーは腫瘍を破壊するために使用されます。 この治療は、開頭術のあと残留している腫瘍組織を除去するために使用されることもあります。 いとこには正常な生活があと5年間与えられました。 彼は管理のため医者に頻繁に行きながら、サイクリングへ出かけたりして人生を謳歌しました。

癌患者の全てのケースが、いつも我々が望むようなものであるわけではありません。 5年後、レーザーが腫瘍を消滅し忘却のかなたへ追いやろうとするかわりに、さらに小さな破片となって分散し脳の他の場所へ拡がっていることを発見しました。
彼は別の治療を試さずに、むしろ残された人生を楽しむことを選びました。 2年後、彼は亡くなりました。 どんな治療にもいつでもリスクが付きまとうことは、医師から説明があります。 我々はいつも最善の結果を期待するしかありません。

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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.

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.