BRAIN TUMOR
Over View
Brain, a 1.1-kilogram organ controls conscious and subconscious activities of a human body located in the head. Yes, your brain communicates with each and every part of your body using the spinal cord and the cranial nerves.
It is responsible for every movement in your body such as facial expressions, taste, smell, movements in the face, neck, hands, legs, sensory movements etc, and controls each and every movement exchanging signals through nerves.
But just like other organs in your body, your brain can also be harmed due to various reasons such as injuries, clots or even cancers. Likewise, a tumour is the most common illness encountered by a brain. Some brain tumours are life-threatening while some tumours are not. However, treatment is available for any kind of tumours.
What Is A Brain Tumour?
A brain tumour is an abnormal growth of the mass of cells in your brain.
These brain tumours can be either benign or malignant. Benign brain tumours are not as harmful as malignant tumours and can be removed through surgery without affecting other parts of the brain. But sometimes benign brain tumour turns cancerous if left undiagnosed. Whereas the malignant tumour has cancer cells.
Types Of Brain Tumours:
Brain tumours are broadly categorised into two types:
Primary Brain Tumour
These types of tumours grow in the brain and stay there without spreading to other parts of the body.
Secondary Brain Tumour
These types of tumours start to grow in other parts of the body and spreads to the brain. Secondary brain tumours are more common Lung, kidney, breast or colon cancers tend to spread to the brain.
The brain tumours commonly found in adults are:
- Acoustic neuroma
- Astrocytomas
- Brain metastases
- Cerebellopontine Angle Tumour
- Choroid plexus carcinoma
- Craniopharyngioma
- Embryonal tumours
- Ependymoma
- Glioblastoma
- Gliomas
- Medulloblastoma
- Meningioma
- Oligodendroglioma
- Pediatric brain tumours
- Pineoblastoma
- Pituitary tumours
Symptoms Of Brain Tumours
There were several possible symptoms of a brain tumour, but they are less likely to exhibit all of them for an individual. They also vary depending on the location, size of the tumour in the brain and the rate at which the tumour is growing. The most common symptoms include:
- New-onset headaches
- Headaches that become frequent and more severe with time
- Nausea or vomiting
- Blurred vision, double vision or peripheral loss of vision
- Gradual loss of movement in an arm or a leg
- Difficulty with balance
- Speech difficulties
- Memory loss and confusion
- Behavioural changes
- New-onset seizures
- Hearing problems
Certain symptoms occur due to excess pressure in the brain. Some symptoms are caused when particular parts of the brain lost its functions due to a tumour.
Causes Of Brain Tumours
There is no precise cause found yet behind the formation of brain tumours. Some studies show that the usage of particular cellular phones, hair dyes, Head traumas, head injuries etc. Some other main factors that lead to brain tumours are:
- Environmental Factors
- Lifestyle habits
- Excessive Weight
- Viral Infections
- Certain Food (Food having a lot of NaNO2 )
- Exposure to radiation
- Age
- Family history of brain tumours
- Certain genetic factors
Treatment For Brain Tumours
Single treatment or combination of treatments is recommended in each case depending on the type, location and size of the tumour, as well as other health conditions.
Medications
If the person suffers from seizures due to tumours then anticonvulsant medication used to control the seizures. Painkillers to ease any headaches, steroids are used to reduce the inflammation around a brain tumour.
Radiosurgery:
Stereotactic radiosurgery is precisely not surgery in the traditional sense. In this surgery, multiple beams of radiation are focused highly in a very small area kill the tumour cells. Individual beams may not be powerful, but the meeting point is at the tumour receives a high dose.
Radiation Therapy:
Radiotherapy is a treatment where high energy beams such as X-rays or protons are focused on cancerous tissue to kill tumour cells.
Radiotherapy is effective in the cases of malignant brain tumour. In some cases, it is used in the combination of surgery. In some conditions, the entire tumour is not able to remove with surgery, in such cases, radiation therapy is used to kill the leftover tumour cells.
Some of the radiation therapies include Radiation Sensitizing therapy, Stereotactic radiosurgery, intraoperative radiation and radioactive monoclonal antibodies etc.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the usage of drugs to kill tumour cells. These drugs can be taken orally or can be injected into a vein directly(intravenously). Temozolomide (Temodar) is a chemotherapy drug often taken as a pill to treat brain tumours. It is also used in addition to surgery or radiotherapy depending on various factors.
Surgery:
Usually, surgery is one of the main treatments to remove benign brain tumours and primary malignant tumours. If the tumours are small and easy to access then surgery is performed to separate the tumour from surrounding brain tissue. If the tumour is not accessible then the surgeon will try to remove possible part of the brain tumour and remaining tumour is removed through other procedures.
Minimal invasive brain surgery or keyhole surgery is one of the best and most accepted modalities for better patient compliance, low blood loss, fewer complications, and less hospital stay etc.
Prevention of Brain Tumours
- Eat healthy food
- Exercising regularly
- Consult a doctor in the case of genetic problems for early diagnosis
- Try not to consume NaNO2
- Stop smoking
- Say No To Drugs
Brain tumours are dangerous and cause life-threatening complications if not diagnosed in time whether they are benign or malignant. If you encounter any symptoms visit our hospital to consult top neurologists. Our experts are experienced in diagnosing the condition and provides treatment accordingly.
Best Neuro care hospital In Hyderabad.
Dr. Yeshwanth Paidimarri is one of the Best Neurologist in Hyderabad. Not just a highly experienced neurologist, but also part of Best Neurology Hospital In Hyderabad, which provides world-class infrastructure & world class Neuro Care treatment.