Brain cancer types, grades, symptoms and Treatment

What is brain cancer?

Brain cancer is the disease of the brain in which the cancer cells (the malignant cells) arise in the brain tissues, The cancer cells grow to form a mass of cancer tissue (tumor) that interferes with the brain functions such as the muscle control, the sensation, the memory, and other normal body functions.

The brain tumor or the intracranial neoplasm occurs when the abnormal cells form within the brain, There are two main types of tumors which are the malignant or the cancerous tumors and benign tumors.

The tumors composed of the cancer cells are called the malignant tumors, and those composed of mainly noncancerous cells are called the benign tumors, The cancer cells that develop from the brain tissue are called the primary brain tumors while the tumors which spread from other body sites to the brain are termed the metastatic or secondary brain tumors.

Brain cancer symptoms

Types of Brain Cancer

The brain tumors are the abnormal growths of cells in the brain, the growths are popularly called the brain tumors but not all the brain tumors are the cancer, Cancer is the term reserved for the malignant tumors.

The malignant tumors can grow and spread aggressively, They can also spread to the distant parts of the body, Like all the cells of the body, The tumor cells need the blood and the nutrients to survive.

The tumors that do not invade nearby tissue or spread to the distant areas are called benign, The benign tumor is less serious than the malignant tumor but the benign tumor can still cause many problems in the brain by pressing on nearby tissues.

What are grades of brain cancers?

Not all the brain tumors are alike, even if they arise from the same type of brain tissue, The tumors are assigned a grade depending on how the cells in the tumor appear microscopically.

In Grade I of brain cancer, The tissue is benign, The cells look almost like the normal brain cells, and they grow slowly, In Grade II, The tissue is malignant. , The cells look less like the normal cells than do the cells in a grade I tumor.

In Grade III, The malignant tissue has the cells that look very different from the normal cells, The abnormal cells are actively growing and they have a distinctly abnormal appearance (anaplastic), In Grade IV, The malignant tissue has the cells which look most abnormal and tend to grow quickly.

Brain cancer symptoms

The headaches are the first symptom of the brain tumor, The headaches can be mild, severe, persistent, or come and go, There are symptoms include the difficulty in speaking or remembering words, hearing, smell or taste.

The symptoms include seizures, severe (a convulsion) or mild (as in the fleeting disturbance of the awareness, the sensation or the jerking muscles), the weakness or paralysis in part of the body, loss of balance, general irritability, drowsiness or a change in personality.

The brain cancer symptoms vary but often include difficulty in walking and dizziness, There are popular brain cancer symptoms which are nausea, vomiting and blurry vision, The change in the person’s alertness, the mental capacity, the memory or the personality, some patients may hallucinate.

Treatment for brain cancer

The diagnostic tests for the brain cancer involve the history, the physical exam, and usually, a CT or MRI brain imaging procedure, and the brain tissue biopsy is done to determine the extent of cancer (its stage).

The brain tumors are graded on a scale of I to IV, based on how quickly they are growing and their ability to invade the nearby tissue, grades I and II are the slowest growing and they are called low-grade tumors, and grade IV is the fastest growing.

The treatments are directed by a team of doctors and they are designed for the individual patient, The treatments may include the surgery, the radiotherapy, or the chemotherapy, or steroid therapy or a combination of these treatments, Some tumors can be removed completely by surgery (craniotomy).

Cancer and Radiation Therapy advantages & disadvantages

Side effects of Chemotherapy after the surgery to remove cancer