Brain Cancer Treatment

Brain cancer is a type of cancer in which there is an excessive formation of abnormal cells or masses in the the form of tumor in the brain or spinal cord. Mostly, brain cancer are tumors but all brain tumors cannot be cancerous. According to statistical data, it is found that more than 3 lakhs patients worldwide are experiencing brain cancer & looking for a brain cancer treatment. This disease affects a person’s life, its treatment often sometimes quite challenging because it rapidly spreads to the different types of the body. Treatment should be planned in an effective way to get better outcomes. Here is the information about brain cancer, its causes, symptoms and the best possible ways to treat it in an effective manner. This includes various types of therapies which can be varied from patient to patient.

Points that you should need to understand before Brain Cancer Treatment

Types of Brain Cancer

It can be found in the form of lesions, cysts and tumors and these are differentiated into more than 120 types. However, according to their grades, it is differentiated into two forms. These grades represent how rapidly it grows and it ranges from I to IV grade.

The I and II are of low grade, whereas, III and IV are  considered as a high grade.

• Benign Tumor: These are non-cancerous with low grade. It slows down the growth of tumor and may be treated.
• Malignant Tumor: These are high grade cancerous brain tumor. Malignant is considered as primary tumors which start within the brain but spread to the other parts of the body or vice versa.

Brain cancer causes

The cause of brain tumor in the brain is not fully not known yet. However, there are some risk factors which can be responsible. These are as follows:-

• Genetic Condition: This condition can be responsible for overproduction of cells and cause brain cancer.

• Ionizing Radiation: After exposure to ionizing radiation such as CT-scan and X-ray can cause brain cancer. It is because these are carcinogenic radiation which may induce brain cancer.

• Age: Geriatric patients are prone to develop brain tumor and it is also seen in children.

Signs & Symptoms of Brain Cancer

The symptoms of Brain Cancer vary which depends on which part of the brain got affected and the size of tumor. There are some of its sign and symptoms which are as follows:-a

• Memory loss
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Vision impairment
• Seizures
• Changes in behavior, personality and cognitive ability
• Unconsciousness
• Trouble speaking and walking
• Numbness in one of the body

How Brain Cancer Can be Examined?

It can be diagnosed in the patient after running some medical tests by a doctor. These tests are done to scan the image of the brain which are mentioned below.

Imaging Technique: MRI and CT scan are imaging techniques to get internal pictures of the body. These tests are performed to assess the function of the brain.

Biopsy: It is a medical procedure in which a sample of tissues or cells is collected to determine the presence of the disease.

Neurological Examination: It is done by examining the controlling ability of the brain. Like reflexes, smiling, walking etc.

How Brain Cancer Can be Treated?

Most of the people wonder that brain cancer can be cured or not. However, its treatment depends on the age, severity, type or stage of brain cancer and its size. These treatments vary from individual to individual.

Objectives of Brain Cancer Treatment

Brain cancer treatment may treat or control brain cancer with the following objectives:-

• Slow down or prevent cancerous cells or tissues.
• Destroy the brain cancerous cells.
• It increases the chance of recovery.
• Reduce the symptoms of brain cancer.

Types of Brain Cancer Treatment

The most common types of treatments which are helpful to treat brain cancer are as follows:-

1. Surgery

Craniotomy, a surgery which is done by making a small hole or cut in the skull extract the whole tumor. It is the most common type and widely used medical practice for removing brain tumor completely. During the surgery other techniques are used in parallel, like endoscopy, biopsy, intraoperative MRI, brain mapping etc.

2. Chemotherapy

The therapy is used to destroy cancerous cell in the brain. It is done by using a single medicine or with a combination of other drugs or radiation. The administration of this medicine can be taken in various ways. Like oral form, injecting into blood vessels, arms and into the cerebrospinal fluid or intrathecal chemotherapy. This treatment is taken in cycles which can be given in a doctor’s clinic without being admitted in the hospital.

3. Targeted Drug Therapy

When other treatments are not effective than targeted drug therapy is used. This drug effectively targets those specific cells which cause cancer in the brain and prevent cancer from spreading.

4. Radiation Therapy

In this therapy, external radiation is used to kill tumor cells in the brain without damaging it. The use of powerful light rays are used like X-Rays to damage or slow the growth of malignant cells in the brain. It is repeated multiple times which depends on severity of the diseases. There are two types of radiation therapy:-

1.  Radiosurgery: Beams of radiation is used at the targeted site of the cancer causing cells without affecting healthy tissues. It is noninvasive radiation therapy which includes Cyberknife or Novalis Tx and Gamma knife.
2. Radiotherapy: It is an external beam radiation therapy which is widely used therapy to treat brain tumor. Radiotherapy targets cancer causing cells, nearby tissues and even the entire brain. This is a Whole-Brain Radiotherapy Treatment or WBRT to treat metastatic tumor

5. Other Medications

There are some medicines which may be helpful to get relief from the symptoms of brain cancer. These medications are prescribed by Oncologists.