Atypical division of different brain cells leads to the formation of an intracranial malignant neoplasm. Lymphomas begin to grow due to changes in the structure of lymphocytes, the disease is more often secondary, that is, arising as a result of metastasis.
What is brain lymphoma?
If lymphoma begins to form within the brain, then its most frequent localization is soft membranes, tissues, sometimes this type of tumors is detected within the eyeball.
Primary lymphomas with this location rarely give metastases that extend beyond the limits of the central nervous system. Secondary tumors predominantly belong to the non-Hodgkin's B-cell type.
Similar cancers grow slowly, in the first stages of symptoms there is almost no case. Due to this, treatment is not always done on time. Choosing an effective therapy for patients with lymphomas is difficult and because of the blood-brain barrier, which blocks the penetration of toxins. Therefore, chemotherapy drugs do not always help.
Prevalence of
The lymphoid brain tumor is diagnosed relatively infrequently - only 5 people per million population worldwide .
Among all benign and malignant CNS formations, lymphoma occurs in no more than three percent of cases.
Several decades ago the above figures were an order of magnitude smaller. The increase in patients with brain lymphomas is associated with the spread of HIV infection among the population.
The probability of developing such a tumor in people with HIV or already with AIDS is increased several times.
Prevalence of oncological disorders caused by lymphomas is higher in elderly people.
Causes of
Lymphomas are formed predominantly in people with weakened immune systems. To cause such a dysfunction of the immunity may be a variety of causes and the most probable of them researchers of malignant brain tumors include:
- A transplant of internal organs - liver, kidney, heart, bone marrow.
- Influence of human immunodeficiency virus.
- Mononucleosis.
- Viral Epstein-Barr disease .
- Prolonged exposure to the body of substances with carcinogens. This can be both exposure to chemicals and the constant use of products containing various additives and a high dose of pesticides.
- Adverse environmental conditions of in the locality of the person.
- Exposure to a single strong or prolonged exposure in minimum doses.
- Chromosomal mutations.
With the development of any cancerous tumors, the influence of harmful components of tobacco, work on hazardous to health production is taken into account. The risk of developing brain lymphoma increases tens of times if several factors predisposing to the disease simultaneously affect a person simultaneously and for a long time.
Symptoms of
Lymphomas located within the brain can not be determined exactly by symptoms. This is due to the almost complete absence of expressed signs at an early stage and a diverse clinical picture in the progression of the neoplasm.
The clinical picture of the disease will directly depend on the part of the brain in which lymphoma is localized. The growth of the tumor squeezes nearby structures that are adjacent to it, causes pain, affects the nervous system.
The signs of lymphoma of the brain are similar to other cancerous processes located inside the skull. To presume the disease in his patient the doctor can, referring to his complaints, include:
- Pain in the head. At first they are periodic, not very pronounced. Increasing the tumor in size leads to the emergence of persistent pain, which can not be suppressed by usual analgesics.
- Certain violations in oral speech.
- Visual function disorders.
- Increased drowsiness.
- Neurological symptoms of , its manifestations depend on the area of the brain in which lymphoma is formed.
- Hallucinations , confusion.
- Emotional instability. When questioning a patient, you can find out that the periods of calmness in him can be replaced by a pronounced irritability and even aggression without any reasons explainable to this.
- Seizures and epileptic seizures.
- Numbness in the hands.
- Violations in the coordination of habitual movements.
The examination reveals hydrocephalus, that is, the accumulation of excess fluid in the brain structures. Tumors of the brain often lead to hemorrhages and strokes, it is with such changes and the main cause of their occurrence is revealed.
Brain lymphomas are also characterized by the development of general symptoms of the disease. The aching person loses his appetite, quickly grows thin, he has fever, night sweats, weakness and the inability to engage in routine work because of fatigue.
Bone marrow lymphoma
The cavities of some large bones contain bone marrow, which is a soft tissue. The bone marrow is a depot of stem cells - platelets, leukocytes, erythrocytes.
These cells receive in the brain the development they need, but if the lymphocytes in the same structure begin to share inappropriately, the normal hematopoiesis is disrupted.
Atypical lymphocytes rapidly divide and displace uniform elements, changing their normal number. Such a disorder is considered to be bone marrow lymphoma, this malignant neoplasm is revealed, as a rule, in the third-fourth stage.
Treatment of bone marrow lesions is long and severe, the result of therapy largely depends on external and internal factors.
Diagnosis
If the doctor suspects any brain formation in his patient, he should do a complete examination.
Initially, the patient is found out all his complaints and stages of development of general deterioration of well-being. Then a number of neurological tests are conducted, which help to establish changes in reflexes and coordination of movements, mental disorders, the degree of functioning of the sense organs and muscles. Diagnostic measures use:
- Magnetic resonance diagnostics. It is carried out by introducing a contrast medium through the vein into the body, which accumulates around the neoplasm. You can see the changes on the computer.
- Tomography is also designed to detect tumors in the body.
- Spinal puncture is necessary for detecting the level of protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, a change in this indicator indicates CNS cancer. Trepanobiopsy is a study of the material taken from the brain tissue after the opening of the skull.
- Stereotactic biopsy - a biopsy analysis, obtained by taking brain tissue through a hole made in the bones of the skull.
A blood test and biochemistry are mandatory for the patient. If suspicion of secondary lymphoma is prescribed, ultrasound and X-ray in order to detect the primary focus of cancer cells.
Methods of treatment
Not always treatment with lymphomas of the brain is highly effective and leads to a prolonged remission. This is due to the fact that the blood-brain barrier inhibits the drugs entering the body and neutralizes some of the components. Therefore, it is difficult to choose adequate therapy.
Usually, initially prescribed corticosteroids, they help cope with swelling, improve the patient's well-being. After this, chemotherapy is selected, a medication such as Methotrexate is used in large dosages. It is injected intravenously or directly into the spinal cord.
Combined chemotherapy involves the simultaneous use of such drugs as Cytarabine, Rituximab, Temozolomide. A long-term remission effect is achieved by adding a course of radiotherapy to chemotherapy drugs.
In the photo the preparation - Temozolomide, which helps in the treatment of brain lymphoma
Surgical operations for the removal of lymphomas are practically not carried out at present. In the past, such surgical intervention mainly resulted in damage to a number of located structures and this violated the mental and mental activity of a person.
In addition to specific treatment, patients are selected drugs that are aimed at reducing the symptoms of the disease. That is, it is necessary to minimize headaches, neurological disorders, hypertensive syndrome. In the last stages of the pain are so strong that even narcotic analgesics are not able to completely stop them.
Prediction
The prognosis for patients with brain lymphomas is unfavorable. Conducting a course of radiation therapy in conjunction with good immunity in humans suggests that remission will continue for 12-18 months.
Chemotherapy sometimes allows you to achieve remission for several years. It should be said that the methods of treatment for lymphomas are being developed the newest and most effective, and therefore there is a chance that this disease will be defeated in the future.