Pineocytoma is a tumor of one of the brain regions - the epiphysis. This neoplasm belongs to the group of benign diseases.
The lack of treatment in the early stages of the development of pineocytoma is the cause of its progression and malignant degeneration.
Description
Pineocytoma is also referred to as a benign pinealoma. It is formed from mature Pineocytes of the pineal body, that is, the epiphysis.
All changes occurring in the human body during the formation of the pineocytoma are due to the fact that the tumor changes the functioning of the epiphysis. The pineal body measures no more than 12 mm and weighs about 200 milligrams, but, despite this insignificant amount, many systems depend on the epiphysis.
This organ of the brain produces a number of vital substances:
- Melatonin. This hormone is responsible for the biological clock, that is, for the change in biorhythms of rest and sleep.
- Serotonin is involved in the regulation of the central nervous system, endocrine, digestive and excretory systems.
If the development and exchange of hormones in the pineal gland is disrupted, then a person has a number of serious enough health problems.
Benign pinealoma, reaching a large size, squeezes nearby the existing structures of the brain, which leads to the appearance of neurological symptoms. Pineocytoma is a node with a pinkish-gray coloration, differs by slow growth, but its germination in the brain stem is not excluded.
Species
The prognosis for the future development of pineal neoplasms depends on their variety:
- Pineocytomas are characterized by a benign course with slow growth. The tumor has clear boundaries, its cells do not pass into nearby tissues and do not migrate to distant organs. The danger to health arises when the pineocyte becomes large and begins to press on those parts of the brain that are responsible for the work of the most important organs. Encapsulated formations are enclosed in a capsule and it is these that are most easily detected during research and removed.
- Pineoblastoma is a malignant node characterized by rapid increase. The formation is grayish in color, it reveals areas of hemorrhage and necrosis. Pineoblastoma extends to a number of structures with it, destroys them and disrupts functioning. In rare cases, cancer cells metastasize with the cerebrospinal fluid.
- Mixed tumors of the epiphysis are manifested by symptoms and disorders, which are attributed to both benign and malignant process.
Causes of development of
The exact reasons for the formation of pineal are not yet established. The tumor of the epiphysis begins to develop as a result of the transformation of its cells, having a special structure.
The cells located deep in the pineal gland brain are endowed with thin and long processes, through which they contact other cells of the brain - astrocytes.
Symptoms of the pinealoma
In the event that the pinealoma develops in children, the most typical symptom of the disease in this case is rapid sexual development.
The sick person develops the following symptoms:
- Headache, it proceeds in the form of seizures.
- Nausea. At the peak of the headache, vomiting often occurs.
- Paralysis blocking the movement of the eyeballs down and up.
- Coordination is disturbed while walking and doing the usual movements.
- Tremor of the upper limbs.
- The speech function is violated.
- Handwriting changes.
- Seizures and epileptic seizures appear.
- Permanent drowsiness.
- Severe weakness.
- Decrease or weight gain without subjective reasons.
One of the most rare changes in pinealome is the appearance of apoplexy - a hemorrhage within the tumor, manifested by secondary neurological symptoms and an increase in the third posterior ventricle.
Diagnosis
The later detection of pineocyte is due to the fact that this disease at the early stage has few distinctive features, and the debut of the disease usually begins with signs of intracranial hypertension.
If a patient is supposed to have a brain tumor, then a number of standard diagnostic procedures are necessarily prescribed:
- Neurological examination reveals the degree of violation of basic functions, signs of motor impairment, oculomotor changes. The neurologist also makes an assessment of the safety of the reflexes.
- An ophthalmic examination is prescribed if the patient is diagnosed with visual disturbances.
- Electromyography determines the degree of pathological abnormality of innervation.
- Electroencephalography reveals changes in nerve conduction.
- CT and MRI are assigned to study brain tissue layer by layer. These two methods are the most informative in diagnosing tumors in the brain.
- Ventriculography is a radiopaque examination necessary to study the pathology of the ventricular cavities of the brain.
- Ultrasound scanning is required to evaluate the displacement of the median structures of the brain and identifies stagnant processes.
- A blood test for hormones is required to determine if the production of the hormones of the epiphysis is deviated from the norm.
- Lumbar puncture is the extraction of cerebrospinal fluid to detect atypical cells.
The diagnosis is only made on the basis of all the data obtained during the survey.
Treatment of Pineo-cytoplasm of Pineal Body
The standard treatment for a detected pineocytoma is a surgical intervention during which trepanation of the skull is performed and the tumor is excised.
Video about the removal of the pineocytoma:
The operation can be assigned to the patient if the tumor is in an accessible place, and the patient's condition is assessed as stable.
If a malignant neoplasm is detected, the surgical method of therapy is combined with chemotherapy or radiation. Before the operation, irradiation can also be used, because under its influence the development of cancer cells ceases, and tumor growth stops.
With pineocytomas, radiation therapy is used much more often than other methods of treatment. The course of radiation exposure is five sessions per week, sometimes a therapy is required for several weeks.
To date, more popular is the method, such as stereotactic radiation therapy.
With this treatment, the tumor is affected from different sides by the finest radiation beam, this ensures the preservation of surrounding tissues and the complete death of cancer cells.
Stereotactic radiosurgery most often uses Cyber-knife, the position of which is controlled by computer programs and tomography. This ensures the most accurate direction of the rays and excludes the development of complications. Radiosurgery is painless, does not require preparation, after the sessions the patient feels fine.
It should be said that the effect of stereotactic radiation therapy will appear in two to three months. Radiosurgery courses can be prescribed repeatedly.
If necessary, the patient is given palliative care. It consists in carrying out shunting operations that provide an alternative pathway for the exit of cerebrospinal fluid, which reduces neurologic symptoms.
Pineozitoma prognosis
The prognosis of the course of the pineocytoma depends on several factors, it is the operability of the formation, its histological type, the presence of other pathologies and the age of the patient.
Extensive proliferation of even a benign node is extremely unfavorable for the patient.
According to statistics, a timely operation provides a chance for approximately 80% of patients to live for at least 5 years.
If a pinealbum is detected, the prognosis is extremely unfavorable. These tumors grow rapidly, penetrate the vital cerebral structures and disrupt their functioning.