In my last post, i wrote extensively on a recent development in the area of cancer therapy, called Targeted cancer therapy, and how it has carved a new path in the evolving world of precision medicine. Observing the fact that the risk factors of brain cancer is on the rise, i have decided to not just write about brain cancer, but educate everyone that wishes to know, about brain cancer and the recent advancements in brain cancer therapy.
The brain
The brain is one of the most essential/powerful organ in the body system. It is responsible for controlling all the complex actions that takes place in the body, including: body movements, thinking, emotions, learning, our speaking patterns, etc. Present in the brain, are billions of nerves which relates in trillions of connections called synapses. The weight of a typical human brain is about 3 pounds (approximately 1.4 kilograms). The brain is a component of the human nervous system, which comprises of the brain and spinal cord. Outside the brain, you can find a layer of tissue, termed "meninges". Due to the fragility of the brain, there is a solid layer just outside the brain called the skull, basically to protect the brain. The brain is further divided into lobes, including: frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobes, occipital lobes
3 Main Parts of the Brain
Cerebrum - The cerebellum is the largest part of the brain, and is responsible for interpretation of some of the most important functions in the body, including: movement control, reasoning, emotions, touch, sight, hearing, speech, etc.
Cerebellum - Located just below the cerebrum, and is responsible for coordination muscle movement, posture maintenance and balance.
Brainstem - The brainstem connects the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord
Brain Tumors
Brain tumor is basically a result of dysfunctional cell growth in the in brain. It is important to note that, not all abnormal cell growth are cancerous. Some tumors are composed of cells that are not cancerous, they are called benign tumor. There are also tumors that are composed of cancerous cells, they are called malignant tumors. The general name "Cancer" is specifically for malignant tumors. Brain tumors originating in the brain are called primary brain tumors, while brain tumors that begin from other parts of the body and spreads to the brain, are called secondary or metastatic brain tumors. Since the brain is enclosed with the skull, which happens to a very rigid structure, any abnormal growth in brain cells could lead to serious complications.
Every year, the month of may is considered a brain tumor awareness month. during this period, there are lots of information about the statistics and risk factors of brain cancer. Get more information here
Types of Brain Tumors
Primary Brain Tumors - Primary brain tumor is a general name given to tumors originating in the brain, they are also known as benign. This type of brain tumor mostly develop from certain areas of the brain, including: nerve cells, brain cells, meninges, and glands.
Gliomas - These are tumors originating in glial cells. There are different types of glial cells where gliomas can develop from. Some tumors originating in glial cells include:
Oligodendroglial tumors - Peculiar to the frontal lobes
Astrocytic - Astrocytic tumors are tumors originating in the cerebrum
Glioblastomas - Glioblastomas is the most aggressive of them all, originating in the supportive brain tissues.
- Metastatic or Secondary Brain Tumors - This kind of brain tumor does not originate in the brain, but originates in another part of the body and metastasize to the brain. Some examples include, lung cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, etc.
Causes of Brain Tumors
There has been lots of debate as to what causes brain tumors. Most people say it is inherited, while some others say it happens during a person's lifetime. Even though the cause of brain tumors is not completely certain, lots of effort is constantly being put in, to understand the actual cause of brain tumors. Below are some risk factors of brain tumor:
Exposure to radiation - Tumors gotten from radiation exposure are very rare. Brain tumors resulting from radiation, have been discovered to be peculiar to individuals who have gone through radiation therapy for one reason or another, especially individuals who had diseases that required radiation therapy in their early ages in life. A typical example of this is seen in children with cancer cases that received radiation to the brain as part of the procedure in treating leukemia. This is exactly why radiation therapy is only given after the risk checks of after effects have been carried out on the patient.
Family history
Age
Previous cancers
Overweight
Smoking and alcohol consumption
Poor nutrition
Head injury
electromagnetic fields
virus infection and allergens
Weakened immune system
N-nitroso compounds
Seizures
The issue of wether cellphones causes cancer or not is still under deliberation.
There is a certain kind of electromagnetic radiation that comes off cell phones, called radiofrequency rays. Radiofrequency waves are not as powerful as other rays like x-rays, ultraviolet light, gamma rays, that are capable of breaking chemical bonds in DNA.
Stages of Brain Cancer
The stages of brain cancer depicts the extent to which the cancer has eaten deep. Unlike some other cancers, like lung cancer, where staging is mostly due to the location and the spread pattern of cancer cells, brain cancers are staged in accordance to their cell type and grade. The reason for this, is because the cancerous cells in the brain hardly spread to other organs, they mostly migrate around the brain.
There are always four stages in any cancer situation. It ranges from stage 0-4, with stage 1 indicating the early stage, and stage 4 indicating the cancer has eaten deep and possibly spread beyond its initially affected zone to other organs. It is important to note that brain cancer could barely present any symptom in its early stage, but gradually gets severe as time goes on. Having said this, we must also note that brain cancers are commonly graded, rather than staged.
Grades of Brain Tumors
Grade I - This is the initial grade, where the growth of the tumor is very slow, and can totally be eviscerated. In this grade of brain cancer, there is little or no spreading to surrounding tissues.
Grade II - There is an observed slow growth rate in grade II, and could possibly spread to surrounding tissues
Grade III - There is an observed quick growth rate in grade III. By this time, the situation is getting serious, the shape of the tumor cells begin to change from that of a normal cell.
Grade IV - In this case, there is rapid growth and spread rate of the tumor to surrounding tissues and beyond, and the shape gets further abnormal from normal cell shape.
Secondary or Metastatic Brain Tumors - metastatic tumors are tumors that spreads from one part of the body to another. They are much more common than primary brain tumors. Metastatic or secondary brain tumors do not originate from the brain, but spreads from another part of the body to the brain. Metastatic brain tumor can be treated using surgery, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, but rarely chemotherapy. This is due to the fact that the blood brain barrier by nature, often keeps most drugs from reaching the brain. There are certain cancers that has a high tendency to spread to the brain, some include:
Lung cancer
Melanoma
Cancer of the kidney
Breast cancer
colon cancer
thyroid and uterine cancer
Concentrating on the behavior and functionality of a brain tumor is a very effective way of determining the grade and development of that brain tumor. Brain tumors can be accessed using the outlines below
- The type of tissue or cell involved
- The tumor size is also a major factor
- knowing if the cancer is within the brain axis or wether it has spread beyond the central nervous system
- Resection factor - This is also knowing if the tumor can likely be removed surgically
Signs/Symptoms of Brain Tumors
The symptoms of brain tumors is largely dependent on the location of the tumor in the head. The symptoms most likely shows up in the part of your body which is being controlled by that part the brain where the tumor is located. Thinking of this, and the very fact that our brain controls informations from all parts of our body, gives us a clue that any cell located in our brain can possibly develop into a tumor. Part of this, is the reason why most individuals think they are having an issue with their eyes and end up getting a totally different report after an examination by their doctor. Having said this, here are some major symptoms observed in individuals diagnosed with brain tumors
Seizures - This is often one of the initial signs. In this case, some nonvoluntary movements are observed in the muscles of the individual
Clumsiness and Numbness - Most individuals tend to lose their balance and in most cases find it difficult to even walk correctly or swallow.
Headaches - gets severe most times during the early hours of the morning.
Alternation in thinking pattern and memory loss - in this case, remembering events becomes a problem because the thinking pattern has been altered.
Vision depletion. This could involve blurry vision, where the individual finds it difficult to see clearly, or bi-vision.
Fatigue
Issues with sleeping
Nausea and vomiting
Brain Cancer Treatment
Treatment of brain cancer is highly dependent on the stage, location, age, size and type of tumor, the health status of the individual is also considered. The most used treatment options are surgery, radiation therapy, and Chemotherapy. There are also cases where more than one of these treatment strategies are involved. Below, is a brief explanation of the different kinds of brain cancer treatment.
1. Surgery
neurosurgeons are doctors that specializes in treatment of the brain and nervous system. Most individuals undergo several treatment options before finally having a surgery. Surgery is the best way to remove benign tumors. When it is discovered that the tumor is not a benign tumor, the neurosurgeons take some samples to determine the best treatment method.
2. Radiotherapy
Often used for individuals that cannot undergo surgery and also to kill remnant tumor cells that are still present in the brain after the use of surgery to remove a tumor. Radiotherapy is often used in order to stop the multiplication of fast growing tumors, and involves the use of high energy rays to kill the tumor cells. Radiotherapy can be given in 3 different ways, including:
External radiotherapy
Internal or implant radiation
3. Chemotherapy
This involves the use of drugs to terminate tumor cells. Chemotherapy involves the use of either a single drug or more than one drug. There are some side effects peculiar to chemotherapy, which is why some individuals hardly accept this treatment pattern. Some of its side effects include: Nausea, vomiting, hair loss, sores in the mouth, appetite lose.
different ways to administer chemotherapy
Orally - involves taking the drugs via the mouth
Through an IV line - via the veins
Prevention of Brain Tumors
Even though there has been lots of advancements in brain cancer treatment, individuals are often advised to pay more attention to preventing brain tumors from showing up in the first place, rather than let it appear and start looking for ways of treatment. It is important to know that a huge percentage of brain cancer cases can be prevented by being proactive and paying more attention to matters like exercise, healthy eating, proper lifestyle, etc. listed below are some activities that can prevent brain cancer.
- It is very important to be aware of the risk factors
- Avoid exposure to radiations
- Proper exercise
- Limit your smoking and alcohol consumption
- Proper nutrition
- Healthy sleep
- Less calories
Targeted Therapy for Brain Tumor
Targeted therapy is at the forefront of a new era of medicine, called precision medicine. Doctors can now be sure they are administering the right drugs to the right patient. Brain tumor targeted therapy involves the use of certain drugs which are made specifically for a particular patient's brain tumor. Targeted therapy can be given orally or through the veins, depending on the situation of the patient. It has proven to be more powerful and effective, with less severe side effects. Paraphrasing the sentence of Professor Roy Herbst, who is the chief of medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center, puts it this way "The future is already here. Before now, it was like using a cannonball to kill an ant, and creating a lot of damage at the same time."
Targeted therapy for brain cancer, can be combined with other brain cancer treatments.
Conclusion
The brain is the most important organ in the body system, and should be given utmost care and attention. I suggest preventive measures, rather than corrective measures. We must not wait to see symptoms before getting regular check ups. More research is still ongoing concerning brain cancer therapy, and I hope to write more about this subject in the nearest future. Until we meet again.
Reference
[1] Brain tumor treatment options
[4] Brain tumor
[6] Warning signs of brain tumor
[7] cancer.net
[8] Cancer
[10]Brain cancer
[11] Radiation exposure
