abhinavagrahari@gmail.com +96 125 554 24 5

Understanding Brain Tumors- Types, Risk factors, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

Blog Detail Image

A brain tumor is a collection, or mass, of abnormal cells in your brain. They can be cancerous (malignant) or noncancerous (benign). That said, both could be potentially life-threatening. Your skull, which encloses your brain, is very rigid. Any growth inside such a restricted space can cause problems.
Types of brain tumors
Primary brain tumors
Primary brain tumors originate in your brain. They can develop trusted sources from your:

  • Brain cells
  • The membranes that surround your brain, which are called meninges
  • Nerve cells
  • glands, such as the pituitary of pineal

Primary tumors can be benign or cancerous. In adults, the most common types of brain tumors are gliomas and meningiomas.

Gliomas
Gliomas are tumors that develop from glial cells. These cells normally:

  • Support the structure of your central nervous system
  • Provide nutrition to your central nervous system
  • Clean cellular waste

Gliomas can develop from different types of glial cells.

The types of tumors that begin in glial cells include
Trusted Source

  • Astrocytic tumors, such as astrocytomas, which originate in the cerebrum
  • Oligodendroglial tumors, which are often found in the frontal temporal lobes
  • Glioblastomas, which originate in the supportive brain tissue and are the most aggressive type

Symptoms of a brain tumor
Symptoms of brain tumors depend on the location and size of the tumor. Some tumors cause direct damage by invading brain tissue and some tumors cause pressure on the surrounding brain.
You’ll have noticeable symptoms when a growing tumor is putting pressure on your brain tissue.

Headaches are a common symptom of a brain tumor. You may experience headaches that:

  • Are worse in the morning when waking up
  • Occur while you’re sleeping 

You may also experience:

  • vomiting
  • blurred vision or double vision
  • confusion
  • seizures (especially in adults)
  • weakness of a limb or part of the face
  • a change in mental functioning

Symptoms of pituitary tumors
The following symptoms can occur with pituitary tumors:

  • Nipple discharge, or galactorrhea
  • Lack of menstruation in women
  • Development of breast tissue in men, or gynecomastia
  • Enlargement of the hands and feet
  • sensitivity to heat or cold
  • increased amounts of body hair, or hirsutism
  • low blood pressure
  • obesity
  • changes in vision, such as blurry vision or tunnel vision

Brain tumors diagnosed
Diagnosis of a brain tumor begins with a physical exam and a look at your medical history.

The physical exam includes a very detailed neurological examination. Your doctor will conduct a test to see if your cranial nerves are intact. These are the nerves that originate in your brain.

Your doctor will look inside your eyes with an ophthalmoscope, which is an instrument that shines a light through your pupils and onto your retinas.

This allows your doctor to check how your pupils react to light. It also allows your doctor to look directly into your eyes to see if there’s any swelling of the optic nerve. When pressure increases inside the skull, changes in the optic nerve can occur.

The doctor may also evaluate your:

  • muscle strength
  • coordination
  • memory
  • ability to do mathematical calculations

Your doctor may order more tests after they finish the physical exam. These could include:

CT scan of the head
CT scans are ways for your doctor to get a more detailed scan of your body than they could with an X-ray machine. This can be done with or without contrast.
Contrast is achieved in a CT scan of the head by using a special dye that helps doctors see some structures, like blood vessels, more clearly.
MRI of the head
If you have an MRI of your head, a special dye can be used to help your doctor detect tumors. An MRI is different from a CT scan because it doesn’t use radiation, and it generally provides much more detailed pictures of the structures of the brain itself.
Angiography
This study uses a dye that’s injected into your artery, usually in the groin area. The dye travels to the arteries in your brain. It allows your doctor to see what the blood supply of the tumors looks like. This information is useful at the time of surgery.
Skull X-rays
Brain tumors can cause breaks or fractures in the bones of the skull, and specific X-rays can show if this has occurred. 

Treatment of brain tumors
The treatment of a brain tumor depends on:

  • the type of tumor
  • The size of the tumor
  • The location of the tumor
  • Your general health

The most common treatment for malignant brain tumors is surgery. The goal is to remove as much of the cancer as possible without causing damage to the healthy parts of the brain.

While the location of some tumors allows for safe removal, other tumors may be located in an area that limits how much of the tumor can be removed. Even partial removal of brain cancer can be beneficial.

The risks of brain surgery include infection and bleeding. Clinically dangerous benign tumors are also surgically removed. Metastatic brain tumors are treated according to guidelines for the type of original cancer.

Surgery can be combined with other treatments, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy can help you recover after neurosurgery.


Conclusion 
Brain tumors represent a complex and diverse group of conditions with significant implications for patients' health and well-being. These tumors can manifest a range of symptoms, and their impact depends on various factors, including type, location, and the speed of growth.