The word cancer designates any disease caused by the abnormal development of so-called “abnormal” cells, which proliferate in an anarchic and excessive manner. Cancers are among the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2020, 10 million cancer-related deaths were recorded worldwide according to the World Health Organization. About 300,000 to 400,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in France each year. Brain cancer is a truly deadly type of cancer because life expectancy five years after diagnosis is low (between 20 and 30%). However, the specific causes of this type of cancer remain unknown.
‹‹ If cancers like those of the lung or the liver have causes like tobacco or alcohol, there is not yet an incriminated risk factor nor a cause as for that of the brain ››, says the neurologist Octave Houannou. Indeed, brain cancer is a cancer that develops inside the cranial box. There are a large number of brain tumors. Brain tumors are usually named after the cells from which they grow. There are, among others, the gliomes which constitute the most known brain cancer and which develops at the expense of cells glials. There are also the meningiomas developed at the expense of the cells of the brainthem schwanomescancers developed at the expense of the cells of Schwannthe medulloblastoma developed at the expense of spinal cord a you cerebellum. The adenomas pituitary develop in the pituitary gland. The lymphoma cerebral disease particularly affects immunocompromised patients and the elderly over 60, while the medulloblastoma mainly occurs in children and adolescents.
According Octave Houannou, headaches or headaches are the most common symptom, regardless of the type of brain tumor. They often appear in the morning, sometimes accompanied by nausea and/or vomiting. These signs are due to the mass of the tumor which compresses the region where it is located. Some patients also have convulsions or epileptic seizures, sometimes in the very early stages of the disease or later. Which convulsions can be accompanied by loss of consciousness. They are often the starting point for diagnosis. The patient may also have speech, vision and hearing disorders; dizziness or balance problems; memory problems, disturbances in learning or behavior; as well as partial paralysis. This specialist advised that these symptoms are not specific to brain tumors and may be due to other neurological conditions. Hence the need for diagnostic tests to allow the doctor to rule out other diseases to make the diagnosis of brain tumour.
Prevention of brain cancer and treatment of sufferers
Given the multiplicity of signs of brain cancer and especially the fact that these signs are not specific to cancer, the neurologist Octave Houannou advises to quickly consult a general practitioner or a neurologist in the event of signs such as: persistent or unusual headaches, epileptic seizures or convulsions, disturbances of walking or vision and unexplained easy vomiting for exploration thorough. Although the specific causes of brain cancers are still being studied, exposure to radiation therapy, exposure to chemicals, doing physical activities and using earpieces when using mobile phonesin order to reduce the quantity of waves directed towards the brain.
In order not to be finished off by this type of cancer, people with brain cancer can resort to chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Chemotherapy consists of taking drugs that will destroy cancer cells. It can be used in addition to radiotherapy, before surgery to facilitate the procedure, or after surgery to destroy the remaining tumor cells. As for the surgical treatment, it serves to remove the tumor. Radiation therapy uses rays to destroy cancer cells.