What is Brain Tumor? | Symptoms of Brain tumor | Treatment of Brain tumors | Types of Brain Tumors | Diagnosis | Risk Factors |

 What is Brain Tumor?

A brain tumor is an abnormal collection or mass of cells in the brain. Your skull that surrounds your brain is very stiff. Growth in such a limited space can cause problems. 

 Brain tumors can be cancerous (malignant) or benign (benign). As benign or malignant tumors grow, pressure in the skull can increase. This causes brain damage and can be life-threatening. 

Brain Tumor

 Brain tumors are classified as primary or secondary. 

 Primary brain tumors occur in the brain. Many primary brain tumors are benign. Secondary brain tumors, also known as metastatic brain tumors, occur when cancer cells metastasize to the brain from another organ, such as the lungs or chest. 

 Benign vs. Malignant brain tumor: 

 Benign brain tumors can cause many serious problems, but they are not cancerous. That is, it grows slowly and usually does not spread to other organizations. 

 Also, the boundaries are usually more clearly defined so that they can be easily removed surgically and usually do not recur after removal. 

Malignant brain Tumor

 On the other hand, malignant brain tumors are cancerous and can grow rapidly and spread to other parts of the brain and the central nervous system, causing life-threatening complications. 

Symptoms of Brain tumor:

 The symptoms of a brain tumor depend on the location and size of the tumor. Some tumors cause direct damage by invading brain tissue, and some tumors put pressure on the surrounding brain. 

 You`ll have noticeable symptoms when a growing tumor is putting pressure on your brain tissue. 

•  Headaches are a common symptom of a brain tumor. You may experience headaches that: 
•  Are worse in the morning when waking up 
•  Occur while you`re sleeping 
•  are made worse by coughing, sneezing, or exercise 
•  You may also experience: 
•  vomiting 
•  Blurred vision or double vision 

Blurred Vision

•  Confusion 
•  Seizures (especially in adults) 
•  Weakness of a limb or part of the face 
•  A change in mental functioning 
•  Other common symptoms include: 
•  Clumsiness 
•  Memory loss 
•  Confusion 
•  Difficulty writing or reading 
•  Changes in the ability to hear, taste, or smell 
•  Decreased alertness, which may include drowsiness and loss of consciousness 
•  Difficulty swallowing 
•  Dizziness or vertigo 
•  Eye problems, such as drooping eyelids and unequal pupils 
•  Uncontrollable movements 
•  Hand tremors 

Hand Tremors

•  Loss of balance 
•  Loss of bladder or bowel control 
•  Numbness or tingling on one side of the body 
•  Trouble speaking or understanding what others are saying 
•  Changes in mood, personality, emotions, and behavior 
•  Difficulty walking 
•  Muscle weakness in the face, arm, or leg 

 Symptoms of pituitary tumors:

 The following symptoms can occur with pituitary tumors: 

1.  Nipple discharge, or galactorrhea 
2.  Lack of menstruation in women 
3.  Development of breast tissue in men, or gynecomastia 
4.  Enlargement of the hands and feet 
5.  Sensitivity to heat or cold 
6.  Increased amounts of body hair, or hirsutism 
7.  Low blood pressure 
8.  Obesity 
9.  Changes in vision, such as blurry vision or tunnel vision

Treatment of Brain Tumors:

Treatment of  brain tumors depends on: 

•   Tumor types 
•  Tumor size  
•  Tumor location  
•  Your overall health 

 The most common treatment for malignant brain tumors is surgery. The goal is to get rid of as much cancer as possible without damaging healthy parts of the brain. 

 Some tumor locations allow safe removal, while other tumors may be in areas that limit tumor removal. Even partial removal of a brain tumor can be beneficial. 

 The risks of neurosurgery include infection and bleeding. Even clinically dangerous benign tumors are surgically resected. Metastatic brain tumors are treated according to guidelines for the original cancer type. 

 Surgery can be combined with other treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. 

 Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy help recovery after neurosurgery. 

 Types of brain tumors:

 Primary brain tumor: 

 Primary brain tumors occur in your brain. They can develop trusted Source from your: 

 Brain cells:

Brain Cells

 The membranes that surround your brain, which is called meninges 

 nerve cells.

 Glands, such as the pituitary of the pineal 

 Primary tumors can be benign or cancerous. In adults, the most common types of brain tumors are gliomas and meningiomas. 

 Gliomas:

 Gliomas are tumors that develop from glial cells. These cells normally: 

Gliomas

•  Support the structure of your central nervous system 
•  Provide nutrition to your central nervous system 
•  Clean cellular waste 
•  Break down dead neurons 
•  Gliomas can develop from different types of glial cells. 
•  The types of tumors that begin in glial cells include trusted Source: 
•  Astrocytic tumors, such as astrocytomas, which originate in the cerebrum 
•  Oligodendroglial tumors, which are often found in the frontal temporal lobes 
•  Glioblastomas, which originate in the supportive brain tissue and are the most aggressive type 

 Other primary brain tumors:

 Other primary brain tumors include trusted Source: 

•  Pituitary tumors, which are usually benign 
•  Pineal gland tumors, which can be benign or malignant 
•  Ependymomas, which are usually benign 

 Ependymomas

•  Craniopharyngiomas, which occur mostly in children and are benign but can have clinical symptoms like changes in vision and premature puberty.
•  Primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphomas, which are malignant 
•  Primary germ cell tumors of the brain, which can be benign or malignant 
•  Meningiomas, which originate in the meninges 
•  Schwannomas, originate in cells that produce the protective cover of your nerves (myelin sheath) called Schwann cells.
•  Meningiomas are diagnosedTrusted Source more often in women than men, according to a study that grouped participants into men and women. 

Schwannomas occurTrusted Source equally in both men and women. These tumors are usually benign, but they can cause complications because of their size and location. Cancerous meningiomas and schwanomas are rare but can be very aggressive.

 Secondary brain tumor:

 Secondary brain tumors make up the majority of brain tumors. They start in a part of the body and spread or metastasize to the brain. The following may metastasize to the brain: 

 lung cancer 

 Breast cancer 

 Kidney cancer 

 Skin cancer 

 Secondary brain tumors are always malignant. Benign tumors do not spread from one part of the body to another.

Diagnosis of Brain Tumors:

Diagnosis of a brain tumor begins with a physical examination and a  medical history. The physical examination includes a very detailed neurological examination.

 Your doctor will run a test to determine if your cranial nerves are intact. These are the nerves that come from your brain. 

 The doctor examines your eye with an ophthalmoscope that shines a light on the retina through the pupil. 

 This allows the doctor to see how the pupil responds to light. It also allows your doctor to look directly into your eyes to determine if there is swelling of the optic nerve. Increased pressure in the skull can cause changes in the optic nerve. 

 Doctors can also evaluate: 

•  Strength 
•  Adjustment 
•  memory 
•  Ability to perform mathematical calculations 

 After the physical examination is complete, your doctor may order additional examinations. This includes: 

CT scan of the head:

 CT scans are a way for doctors to get a more detailed body scan than is possible with an x-ray machine. This can be done with or without contrast. 

CT scan of Head

 Contrast is achieved with a CT scan of the head by using a special dye that helps doctors see some structures such as blood vessels more clearly. 

 MRI of the head:

 If you have an MRI of the head, you can use special dyes that help your doctor find the tumor. MRI differs from  CT scans in that it does not use radiation and generally provides a much more detailed image of the structure of the brain itself. 

 MRI of the head

 Angiography:

 This study uses dyes that are usually injected into the inguinal arteries. The dye travels to the arteries in your brain. It allows your doctor to see what the blood supply to the tumor looks like. This information will be useful during surgery. 

Angiography Of the Head

 X-ray of the skull:

 Brain tumors can cause fractures and fractures of the skull, and specific x-rays can tell if this has happened. These x-rays can also detect calcium deposits that may be contained in the tumor. If cancer has spread to the bones, calcium deposits may be in the bloodstream. 

X-Ray of the Skull

 Biopsy:

 A biopsy takes a small piece of the tumor. A specialist called a neuropathologist examines it. A biopsy determines whether the tumor cells are benign or malignant. It also determines if cancer has started in the brain or another part of the body.

Biopsy of Head

Risk Factors of Brain tumor:

Risk factors for brain tumors include a reliable source: 

 Family history:

 Only about 5 to 10 percent of all cancers are genetic or genetic. Brain tumors are rarely inherited. Talk to your doctor if more than one person in your family is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Your doctor can recommend a genetic counselor. 44 44 years old 

 The risk of most types of brain tumors increases with age. 

 Exposure to chemicals:

 Exposure to certain chemicals, such as those found in the work environment, can increase the risk of brain tumors. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health maintains a list of potentially carcinogenic chemicals found in the workplace. 

 Radiation exposure:

 People exposed to ionizing radiation are at increased risk of brain tumors. They can be exposed to ionizing radiation from highly irradiated cancer treatments. It can also be exposed to radiation from fallout. 

 The nuclear power plant accidents in Fukushima and Chornobyl are an example of how people are exposed to ionizing radiation. 

 No history of chickenpox.

 According to a 2016 report published in Cancer Medicine, the history of chickenpox in children is associated with a 21% reduction in the risk of developing glioma.