Early diagnosis increases the chances of a good prognosis. Therefore, if there are chronic symptoms, it should be shown to a specialist.
The concept of
Uncontrolled division of cells in any structure of the brain, leading to the emergence of new formations - is the path of the appearance of tumors in the brain area. In this area there are tissues created by different types of cells. And all of them can be the basis for the formation of tumors.
The disease code for ICD -10 is:
- benign formations D32, D33;
- malignant tumors C70, C71.
Causes in adults and children
What causes tumors in the brain, there are no exact answers to this question.
The area of the brain has its own characteristics. Nature provides a protective shell, which creates a barrier to harmful effects on the brain.
It is noted that the disease more often coincides with such phenomena:
- Genetic predisposition - if a tumor was diagnosed in one of the relatives, there were cases that the problem was also revealed in representatives of subsequent generations.
- Systematic stress, which is present in all spheres of life, is considered to be involved in the appearance of tumors in the brain.
- Low-quality food containing carcinogens and other harmful inclusions is considered a risk factor.
- The unfavorable ecological condition of the surrounding area, especially the areas where there is increased exposure or industrial enterprises with an unresolved problem about the emission of harmful substances - these factors contribute to an increase in the level of the disease of the population, including tumoral formations of the brain.
Classification of
Education in the brain area in adults and children have several characteristics according to various signs.
Tumor formations are as follows:
- Primary pathology - a tumor originated from cells that are present in tissues in the brain area. In the functioning of some kind of cells, a failure occurred and they began to rapidly share and create a new structure, not provided by nature for a healthy organism.
- Secondary pathology, where the localization of the primary tumor is outside the brain. The appearance of education in the brain area occurs as a result of the spread of the tumor by metastases. This can occur:
- by moving pathological cells through the lymph flow or blood circulation,
- by sprouting tumors into the brain area.
Depending on the tissue from which the tumor was born, it is common to distinguish between the following:
- Glial tumor - the formation is created from the brain tissue. Half of the tumors in this region are gliomas.
- Meningioma is a tumor of the shell type. It is formed from the cells of the meninges. Characterized by slow growth.
- A glioblastoma is a malignant glioma, has 50% of glial tumors.
- Vascular tumors affect vessels of different purposes that are located in the brain area.
- Neurinomas - pathological formations arise from nerve cells. In the region of the head are the cranial nerves.
- Pituitary adenoma - is formed from the cells of this organ and leads to hormonal disorders.
This photo shows how the glial brain tumor looks on the MRI image
The localization of the formation divides the tumors by this feature:
- cerebellum tumor,
- brainstem tumor,
- frontal lobe tumor,
- temporal lobe tumor,
- parietal tumor,
- pituitary tumor,
- pineal gland tumor;
- subtentorial tumors,
- diffuse brain tumor of the brainstem,
- tumor of the cerebral hemispheres.
Benign
Tumors of the brain, which increase in size, but do not grow into neighboring tissues, are called benign. Such formations have a good prognosis for cure. At a late diagnosis, tumors can degenerate into cancerous.
Often found:
- hemangioblastoma,
- meningioma,
- craniopharyngioma,
- acoustic schwannoma,
- pituitary tumor.
Malignant
Brain tumors that are of a malignant nature have the property of spreading to other organs and tissues. Metastases are formed by sprouting into neighboring areas or by the spread of pathological cells with lymph or blood.
Cancer:
- glioblastoma multiforme,
- anaplastic astrocytoma.
Clinic of Disease in Adults and Children
Tumors of the brain occur eight times less often in children than in adults. This is usually due to unfavorable factors in the perinatal period. Symptoms of the disease in children and adults are similar.
The child becomes whimsical. Parents should pay attention to the constant headaches in him, which can be accompanied by vomiting and dizziness. Symptoms can not be treated with anesthetics.
Symptoms in the early stages of
The earliest signs of brain tumors manifest themselves as:
- Increased pressure inside the skull occurs. This is an inevitable phenomenon, when a tumor appears and begins its growth. Neighboring tissues experience oppression. Accompanying increasing structure inside the brain by the appearance of:
- headache, which is not amenable to the action of analgesics,
- vomiting,
- convulsions,
- Increased intoxication.
Focal Symptoms
By definition, signs of this genus show which zone is affected. Symptoms of the focus will show a violation of the functions of this part of the brain. Dysfunction can manifest itself as loss of those functional manifestations, for which the affected areas of the brain are responsible.
For example, a tumor located in the temple area has focal symptoms:
- auditory hallucinations,
- taste sensation disorder,
- visual hallucinations,
- sense of smell inadequate,
- problems associated with trigeminal nerve injury;
- common for all departments of the brain symptomatology appears early.
Brainwave signs
Tumors of different dislocations in the brain region have several common manifestations. These symptoms are inherent in brain tumors and do not depend on their location.
These include:
Dizziness - a sign may manifest itself in some positions of the head. The symptom has the form of an attack.- hard to concentrate,
- memory dips,
- aggressiveness,
- unmotivated acts of
- and others.
The nature of the headaches
Symptom, as a rule, accompanies a neoplastic disease of the brain. Should be alerted if the headache manifests itself as follows:
- is worse during exercise, coughing;
- is accompanied by:
- vomiting,
- double vision;
- appears in the morning and passes for some time,
- is of a pulsating nature.
Stages of
The course of brain tumors is divided into the following stages:
- No contraindications for the removal of the tumor. Pathology develops slowly.
- Same as in the previous case, but the process of spreading into tissues that are adjacent to the tumor has begun.
- Development of pathology proceeds with great speed. The tumor is implanted in other tissues.
- Surgery is almost impossible. Rapid spread of cancer cells into neighboring tissues.
Diagnosis
Due to the fact that the tumor in the brain area is inside the cranium, some effort will be required to identify its presence and obtain the necessary information about it.
The study provides for the collection of a part of the formation and the conduct of histological examination of cells for malignancy.
The diagnostic process consists of three consecutive steps.
Detection of
The patient notices suspicious symptoms and comes on a consultation to a specialist. If the pathology is at the initial stage of development, then the signs of the disease may manifest itself poorly.
The physician analyzes the symptoms and prescribes the measures for examining the patient. Determines which specialists need to pass the patient and whether there is a need for hospitalization of the patient.
Survey
Consultation of a neurologist is necessary. The expert does several recognition checks:
- On tactile sensitivity, because when the pathology is localized in some areas of the brain, the patient loses the sensitivity of the skin. It may happen that the patient does not feel the touch, the ability to distinguish between heat and cold has become blunted.
- Many specialists will give information about a possible tumor process in the brain examining the patient for the degree of activity of tendon reflexes.
- If the patient has signs of coordination problems, he is invited to touch his finger to the tip of his nose with his eyes closed.
- Complaints of the patient will prompt, what else checks are necessary for spending.
Suspicion of a tumor is checked by a survey:
- Pneumography - the fixation of data on the carrier relative to the nature of respiratory movements.
- Positron emission tomography is the newest method of diagnosis. The method gives the most complete picture of the disease. In addition to information about the size of the tumor, its location and other details, the survey gives an answer to the topic that changes in the vital activity of cells. This allows for more subtle diagnostics.
- Magnetic resonance imaging is a method that was the most informative before the advent of positron emission tomography. The specialist gets the opportunity to learn everything about pathology, except processes at the cellular level.
- Angiography is a method of studying the state of vessels.
- Computed tomography is a diagnostic method that allows you to see the organ in a section in the required perspective. An informative method, especially well exploring solid structures.
- MRI-angiography - examination of the vessels state by the method of angiography( contrasting) and monitoring the results of diagnostics with the help of magnetic resonance imaging.
- Electroencephalogram - a study of brain activity. The method shows whether there are changes in the functioning of brain structures, including the cerebral cortex.
- Single-photon emission computed tomography is a type of positron emission tomography method. The method can modulate 3-D images.
- Lumbar puncture is a sampling procedure for the examination of cerebrospinal fluid.
- Magnetoencephalography is a method that allows you to know the location of the epilepsy focus.
- Biopsy is a complex neurosurgical operation performed to obtain a small tumor fragment for histological examination of the material.
- Blood test - performed necessarily in the composition of any diagnosis.
Acknowledgment of
The final stage of the diagnosis summarizes the results of the patient's examination. Specialists for themselves answer the questions:
- complete information picture about pathology,
- selection of treatment methods that will solve the problem of brain tumor taking into account the personal characteristics of the patient;
- makes a determination of the dose of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and regimens for their use.
How to treat a brain tumor?
In each case, specialists make up an individual treatment program. Rid of the problem can only timely removal of pathology.
Video Transcript of Methods for Removal of Tumors in the Brain:
Symptomatic Therapy
Treatment with medications with this disease makes it possible to maintain and to some extent improve the patient's well-being. The cause of the problem does not affect this type of assistance.
Apply medications in complex treatment:
- to relieve depression in a patient who first learned the diagnosis;
- in parallel with the measures to remove the tumor,
- for patients, stage of the disease, which does not allow the possibility of rapid removal of pathology.
Sample list of medicines:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are their task to reduce or relieve pain and inflammation. When carrying out symptomatic therapy in the treatment of brain tumors, ketanol is used.
Glucocorticosteroids - reduce the manifestations of cerebral symptoms, fight edema.
Representatives of this group:
- dexamethasone,
- prednisolone.
- Narcotic analgesics - drugs solve the following problems:
- relieve psychomotor agitation,
- block pain,
- counteract the occurrence of vomiting, which provokes the disease.
Applied:
- omnopon,
- morphine.
- Sedatives - drugs prescribed in the treatment program:
- for mental disorders,
- to relieve psychomotor agitation,
- in order to improve the emotional background.
- Antiemetic drugs are prescribed to reduce emesis after chemo-radiotherapy or symptoms resulting from cerebral symptoms. One of the representatives of drugs prescribed as an anti-emetic is metoclopramide.
Surgical treatment
Tumor removal is the most effective treatment for a disease. Experts determine whether the size of the pathology, its location allows surgical intervention.
To exclude metastasis formation, it is excised until the appearance of healthy tissues .
Neurosurgical operation is a complex exercise.
Specialists in each case determine the degree of intervention required and the method of disposal. The use of new technologies reduces the traumatic nature of the operation and increases its effectiveness.
Radiation therapy
Exposure to a brain tumor or the site of an irradiation operation is an effective intervention. In the pre-operative period, the procedure helps to stop the spread of the tumor, after the operation, radiation therapy acts destructively on the pathological cells, which do not fall under the removal and protect against relapse.
The dose for irradiation is selected individually depending on such factors:
- type of tumor,
- its location is
- and dimensions.
Radiosurgery
A method where removal of a tumor occurs without inserting tools into the skull. The procedure is performed by means of a radiosurgical gamma knife.
The tool looks like a helmet with radioactive emitters in the structure. To perform the operation, it is necessary to know the very exact coordinates of the tumor.
The patient is being prepared for the procedure. After that, they put a helmet on his head. Radiators produce rays that converge at one point in the location of the pathology.
When the radio radiation is created, the tumor is destroyed. Healthy tissues do not suffer from this.
Chemotherapy
To apply the method of chemotherapy the patient is examined for individual drug tolerance. To achieve the desired effect, it is necessary to choose the route of administration of the agent into the body. The purpose of the event is that the medicine should accumulate in the tumor cells.
For chemotherapy for tumors in the brain, the following preparations are used:
- natural products,
- synthetic and semisynthetic,
- drugs of alkylating group,
- antiblastics antibiotics,
- antimetabolites.
Cryosurgery
The method involves the destruction of pathological cells as a result of their freezing. A positive fact is the absence of harmful effects on healthy cells.
The method can be used:
- in case of inaccessibility of pathology,
- if the patient has coexisting diseases,
- the patient has advanced age.
Combined use of radiation and chemotherapy
Practice shows that the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy separately inferior in terms of efficiency, when these procedures are used in combination. In this case, a good result is obtained when several drugs are selected for chemotherapy.
Treatment of benign pathology
Methods of assistance in the formation of benign nature are the same as in cancerous tumors. The main way is to remove the pathology. Excludes the conduct of chemotherapy.
The treatment program is made by the specialist in each case individually. Modern medicine has a method of removing a tumor without surgery. The use of a cyber knife allows you to destroy the formation without instrumental introduction into the skull.
Where are patients treated?
When a brain tumor is detected in a patient, it is sent for complete diagnosis to the oncology dispensary. After examining the patient, if confirmed, suspicion is put on the register.
In this institution, he undergoes specialist treatment. In the future, the patient is under the supervision of doctors. The patient undergoes periodic examination and, if necessary, treatment.
How many people live with a brain tumor?
The prognosis depends on many factors:
- tumor localization,
- surgical removal capabilities,
- at what stage of the pathology development the patient turned for help.
Prevention
Experts have not yet determined the warranty measures against brain tumors. It is not completely clear what factors cause the disease.
Compliance with the rules will help to avoid the disease:
- If relatives have had brain tumors, then it is necessary to undergo more frequent preventive examinations. Especially it is necessary to pay attention to health if there are incomprehensible symptoms that are among the possible signs of the disease.
- To lead a healthy life:
- to avoid stress,
- in food to exclude dishes containing chemicals and carcinogens;
- live in a place where a safe environment;
- if at work there are harmful effects, then at least apply protective equipment;
- get rid of bad habits.
This video shows an operation to remove glioblastoma of the brain: