Links: American Brain Tumor Association / National Brain Tumor Association

Brain Cancer
Information

Brain Cancer has no boundaries. It strikes all age groups and walks of life. No risk factors or causes are known even though environmental and genetic studies are being done all over the United States. More knowledge about tumors has been gained in the last ten years than in the last 100 years.

There are over 120 different types of brain tumors. Over 190,000 brain tumors will be diagnosed in the united States each year. About 43, 000 people will have a primary tumor and about ß∑150, 00 will have a metastatic brain tumor.

Primary brain tumors begin in the brain and stay in the brain. They occur in people of all ages - more frequently in children under the age of 20 and older adults. Metastatic brain tumors, which begin as a cancer elsewhere in the body and spread to the brain, are more common in adults than children. Lung cancer, breast cancer, kidney cancer, colon cancer and melanoma are the most common cancers that frequently spread to the brain.

Not all brain tumors are malignant. Of brain tumor survivors, about 75% were diagnosed with benign tumors and 23% were malignant tumors. Malignant tumors increase steadily with age. The lowest malignant rate is among children less than 20. But on the other hand, brain tumors are the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in children under 20. Leukemia remains the first.

Primary malignant and benign tumors are slightly higher in males (7.9 per 100,000) than females (5.6 per 100,000). Also, whites have a higher primary incidence rate (15.1 per 100,000) than African Americans (11.00 per 100,000).

Symptoms:

Brain tumors are hard to diagnose because symptoms often mimic other diseases. The symptoms also depend on where the tumor is located in the brain. The three most common symptoms are headache, seizures and mental/personality changes. Brain tumor headaches are worse in the morning and improve during the day. Sometimes they may wake a person from sleep and the person vomits, then feels better. These headaches do not respond very well to headache medicines.

Another common symptom is seizures. Most are not aware they have a brain tumor until they have a seizure. Seizures cause convulsions, unusual sensations and loss of consciousness.

Other symptoms may occur, such as muscle twitching or jerking of an arm or leg, abnormal smells or tastes, problems with speech or numbness and tingling.

Mental and/or personality changes are another symptom. It can range from problems with memory (short term memory), speech, communication, concentration and confusion. Depending where the tumor is, there can be changes in behavior, temperament and personality.

Treatment:

Brain tumors are treated differently than any other cancer. The brain has a blood brain barrier that protects the brain by acting like a filter. Different types of radiation and chemotherapy are used. A usual pattern of treatment is surgery followed by radiation, then chemotherapy.

Surgery is usually the first step in treating most benign and many malignant tumors. As much of the tumor is taken out as possible without damaging the brain. If a tumor is benign, slow growing and not causing pressure to the brain, surgery may be postponed.

Radiation therapy is the next step. It is used to cure brain tumors or if they cannot be cured, the goal is to shrink them or slow growth. Depending on the type of brain tumor, sometimes radiation is very effective and the only treatment needed. Radiation is also used to treat inoperable tumors. Radiation is given for about 10-20 minutes per treatment fro five days a week for five to six weeks. Radiation therapy can only be done once.

After radiation, chemotherapy is used if necessary and also if the brain tumor is very aggressive. Only certain chemo treatments are used to penetrate the blood brain barrier. There are many side affects to chemo treatments, such as hair loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue and low blood count.

Steroids such as Dexamethasone and Prednisone are used to reduce swelling. They temporarily relieve brain tumor symptoms and need to be monitored closely. Steroids are given before, during and after surgery and sometimes continued indefinitely. Steroids may increase a persons alertness, ability to be mobile and increase their ability to communicate and interact with others.