Understanding Malignant Brain Tumors: Causes, Mortality Rates, and Prevention

2023-10-25 02:37:56

Malignant brain tumors, that is, brain cancer, although the incidence is not high, are very deadly! Why is brain cancer so deadly? How high is the mortality rate from brain cancer? How to prevent it? The following treatment days will share with you the health and education information on brain cancer/brain tumors.

What is a brain tumor? How is it different from brain cancer?

Brain tumors should be called intracranial tumors, which generally refer to tumors that grow in the skull cavity. Brain tumors originate from brain tissue, and some arise from the meninges or other intracranial tissues. Of course, they also include metastasis from malignant tumors outside the brain, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, etc. There are many factors that cause brain tumors, which may be related to genetics, trauma, environmental factors, or even viral infections, but none of them can be determined.

The most common primary brain tumor is “glioma” that mutates from glial cells, accounting for more than half of all brain tumors, followed by “meningiomas” that grow out of the meninges, and “meningiomas” that arise from the subbrain glands. “Subcerebral adenoma”, “schwannoma” growing from the neural membrane, etc. Recently, due to the extension of average life expectancy and the advancement of medical care, the number of metastases from cancers other than the brain has also increased significantly. More than half of brain tumors are glial cell tumors, and almost all are malignant. Especially glioblastoma, which occurs in adults and myeloid blastoma in children, is extremely malignant.

Why is brain cancer so difficult to treat?

The main reason is that the early symptoms of brain cancer are not obvious and have often grown to a certain size when discovered. In addition, it is a primary malignant tumor of the brain, so the boundary with normal brain tissue is unclear. In order to preserve important nerves during surgery, Because of its structure, it is difficult to completely remove the malignant tumor, so it is very easy to relapse.

What is the death rate from brain cancer?

The prognosis of malignant brain tumors is not good, so the mortality rate of brain cancer is high, and the average survival time of patients is only regarding 15 months. Even if it is treated with surgery combined with radiation and chemotherapy, the most malignant among malignant tumors, polymorphic nerve glue For blastoma, the five-year survival rate is only regarding 5%. In other words, the mortality rate is 95%.

What are the symptoms of a brain tumor?

A brain tumor must be suspected when you have the following symptoms:

Blurred vision and gradually narrowing of the field of vision: Brain tumors cause increased brain pressure and compress the optic nerve, resulting in blurred vision and blurry vision. As for the visual field defects, they are mostly on both sides, as if they are covered by curtains. A small number of elderly patients with poor vision have no improvement in vision following cataract surgery, which is also due to the development of brain tumors. Eye appearance deformations: including drooping eyelids, protruding eyeballs, and the inability to look out, etc. This is because the cranial nerves responsible for eyeball movement are damaged, and the problem is in the brain rather than in the eyes. Unilateral hearing loss: First, the balance and auditory nerves (eighth cranial nerve) are compressed, resulting in paroxysmal tinnitus, gradually worsening hearing, possibly accompanied by facial numbness on the ipsilateral side, and then the trigeminal nerve in the brainstem, which is responsible for facial sensation. (Fifth cranial nerve) and the glossopharyngeal nerve, vagus nerve and brainstem responsible for swallowing are compressed, causing difficulty in swallowing, unsteady gait, and even blurred vision. This is a typical symptom caused by acoustic neuroma. Dysphagia and unsteady gait: I often choke when swallowing food, my voice is hoarse, I am unable to speak loudly, I cannot take long strides, and I fall easily. These are symptoms caused by tumors in the posterior fossa compressing the glossopharyngeal nerve, vagus nerve, and brainstem. Unilateral numbness or weakness in a limb: Symptoms similar to stroke, but not as sudden as stroke, but gradual. This is caused by compression of the pyramidal tract system in the brain, which is responsible for motor function. Personality changes: When the frontal lobe or temporal lobe of the brain is violated, there will be abnormal symptoms such as significantly poor memory, loss of emotional control, disordered behavior, and incorrect answers to questions. Epileptic seizures: Some brain tumors also manifest in epileptic forms: twitching of the corners of the mouth, spasms of hands and feet, and then generalized seizures.

The above are possible symptoms of brain tumors. As for the common headaches, dizziness, insomnia, memory loss, etc., they are functional disorders and do not mean the existence of brain tumors.

Further reading:One trick to detect whether dizziness is anemia or neuropathy!Beware of 9 brain tumor symptoms: dizziness and tinnitus, seek medical attention immediately

4 major examinations for brain tumor diagnosis

When doctors suspect that a patient’s symptoms are related to a brain tumor or require a detailed diagnosis, they will use the following four tests to help understand the actual condition of the tumor.

Computed tomography (CT) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Angiography (angiography) Pathological analysis When symptoms are suspected to be related to a brain tumor, a computed tomography scan will be arranged to understand the location, size and affected areas of the tumor. MRI is used for detailed diagnosis, preoperative evaluation and postoperative follow-up of brain tumors. Confirm the existence of brain tumors and determine the nature of the tumors, and understand the relationship between the number and location of tumor blood vessels and the tumors. Pathological analysis involves surgically removing tissue samples from brain tumors for pathological testing, which is the most accurate way to diagnose brain tumors.

How to treat brain cancer?

Treatment options for brain tumors include surgical resection, radiation therapy, and systemic drug therapy. Sometimes it is necessary to adopt “multi-specialty team medical care” that uses several treatment methods together. The treatment of tumors depends on many factors, including the cell type, location, size of the tumor, the patient’s age, and physical condition.Patients can discuss with doctors and participate in treatment decisions

Surgery: Surgical removal is the main treatment for brain tumors. Usually surgeons try to remove brain tumors as much as possible, but if the tumor is connected to or close to important brain tissue, surgeons can only try their best to remove part of the tumor. Partial resection can reduce tumor volume, reduce brain pressure, and reduce the need for subsequent radiation therapy or chemotherapy. For tumors that cannot be removed, slice sampling may be performed to conduct detailed cell type analysis to assist in the selection of subsequent treatment methods. Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy is a treatment method that uses high-energy radiation to cause damage to cancer cells and cause them to die. It is often used to destroy tumors that cannot be removed by surgery or to kill residual cancer cells following surgery. It is also used for patients who cannot undergo surgical treatment. The most commonly used radiotherapy equipment is external radiation therapy, which delivers radiation once a day and five times a week. The total dose varies depending on the pathological type, location, and age. Systemic drug therapy: Some primary malignant brain tumors may require additional chemotherapy, such as poorly differentiated astrocytoma, glioblastoma, medulloblastoma, germ cell tumor, etc., but the effectiveness has yet to be evaluated. In addition, the most common clinical brain tumors are secondary brain tumors that metastasize to the brain from other organs or tissues. In addition to the brain, such brain tumors are often treated with tumors in other organs. Systemic drug therapy may be necessary. These systemic treatments include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy, depending on the tumor type.

Tips for treatment: Pay attention to the three major risk factors for brain cancer

As mentioned before, the medical community still does not know the exact cause of brain cancer, but it may be related to the following risk factors:

Age: Although people of any age can develop brain tumors, the risk is higher for people over 40 years old. However, some brain cancers, such as medulloblastoma, appear almost exclusively in children. Family history: Someone in the family has had the disease. Glioma, family members are also more likely to be exposed to radiation and chemicals for a long time: long-term exposure to radiation, formaldehyde, vinyl chloride and propylene, etc., may increase the incidence of brain cancer.

Please also pay attention to the treatment date:Is the cause of lung cancer related to genetic stability? Women are more likely than men!More susceptible to the effects of smoking and air pollution

Have a good chat to heal your healthy life

source:Chang Gung Memorial Hospital、Cathay General Hospital、Taiwan Cancer Foundation

Image source: 123RF

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