Cancer (oncology) of the brain

The diagnosis of “brain cancer” includes a group of malignant neoplasms of various histological variants, which are located inside the cranium. The tumor can develop in the cerebral tissues, membranes, glands, and blood vessels of the brain. Brain cancer is a relatively rare diagnosis. If brain cancer develops from its own cells, doctors talk about primary cancer. If the tumor occurs as a result of metastasis from malignant neoplasms located in other organs, it is a secondary cancer. Primary brain cancer accounts for about 1% of all cancers. Secondary occurs much more often – in 10-30%.

Treatment of a malignant brain tumor is a complex process that has its own specifics. Firstly, there is a blood-brain barrier that prevents many drugs from entering the nervous system, which can be an obstacle to the use of conservative therapy. Secondly, tumors are often located near the vital centers of the brain, which is why their removal carries certain risks. However, the world’s leading clinics working in the field of neurosurgery and oncology today offer quite effective options for the treatment of brain cancer and are ready to take on patients with any degree of complexity of conditions.

Causes of brain cancer

In most cases, it is not possible to establish the causes of brain cancer. However, it is believed that the following factors can provoke its development:

• trauma;
• adverse environmental conditions;
• prolonged exposure to radiation;
• interaction with toxic substances;
• hereditary predisposition;
• some viral infections.

Types of brain cancer

Currently, there are more than 100 types of brain tumors. They may differ in location and type of cells from which they are formed. According to the type of cells, doctors distinguish between the following types:

• tumors from epithelial cells;
• neoplasms from the cells of the membranes of the brain;
• tumors from cells of the nervous tissue;
• neoplasms from embryonic cells;
• tumors from immune cells.

In addition, neoplasms can be of varying degrees of malignancy. There is a WHO classification for this characteristic:

• 1st degree. Include benign tumors that grow slowly and respond well to treatment.
• 2nd degree. Benign tumors that can become malignant but grow slowly.
• 3rd degree. Malignant tumors that grow rapidly and metastasize to nearby tissues.
• 4th degree. The most aggressive brain tumors. They are characterized by rapid growth and the formation of distant metastases.

Common brain tumors include:

• Glioma. In more than 50% of cases, when neoplasms of the brain are detected, these are gliomas (ependymomas, oligodendrogliomas, astrocytomas). They are formed from a special group of cells – glia. For gliomas, different degrees of malignancy are possible.
• Meningioma. It makes up about 20% of all brain tumors. There may be varieties of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree of aggressiveness, but benign tumors of this type are most common.
• Pituitary adenoma. Approximately 10% of diagnosed brain tumors belong to this type. These are benign neoplasms.
• Neurinoma (schwannoma). Formed from cranial nerves. More often, such neoplasms are not too aggressive, but there are also tumors of the 4th degree.
• Medulloblastoma. A neuroectodermal tumor that develops in the cerebellum. It actively metastasizes. It is often diagnosed in children.
• Lymphoma. In the brain, this type of tumor is diagnosed extremely rarely.
• Secondary tumors. These are neoplasms that form as metastases of cancer that has developed in other organs. Most often, such metastatic neoplasms give cancer of the lungs, kidneys, breast and intestines.

Symptoms and signs of brain cancer

When a tumor occurs in the brain, the symptoms can be very different, since many functions of the human body depend on the work of various areas of the brain, from hormone production to motor activity and cognitive functions. Violation of the work of these zones due to tumor growth can also lead to violations of the functions corresponding to this zone. Despite this, there are a number of common symptoms for most variants of this pathology:

• Headache. The characteristics of tumor headache may vary depending on its location and histology.
• Vomit. Among the features of vomiting against the background of neoplasms in the brain are its gushing character and non-attachment to food intake. Vomiting occurs without prior abdominal pain.
• Vertigo. It is often accompanied by tinnitus, and hearing may also be impaired.
• Vision problems. Characterized by double vision, blurred vision.
• Mental symptoms. They are different, often there is a decrease in memory and concentration. General weakness and indifference may appear as a background. Personality changes may occur, uncharacteristic behavior may develop.

According to a number of symptoms, doctors can guess in which part of the brain tumor processes have developed. So, with damage to the frontal lobes, the following signs can be observed: aggressiveness and an excited state, which are replaced by euphoria and complacency, an uncritical attitude towards one’s actions, untidiness, strange behavior, memory loss and intellectual abilities, apathy. With the development of a tumor in the temporal lobes, hallucinations may occur (they can be gustatory, auditory, olfactory). If the tumor affects the junction between the temporal and occipital lobes, there may be visual hallucinations. Pain in the extremities may indicate the presence of pathology in the parietal lobe.

However, the above symptoms may indicate other diseases. In addition, it can be the same for benign and malignant tumors. Therefore, it is very important to undergo a special examination in order to accurately diagnose and select the optimal treatment for a brain tumor.

Diagnosis of brain cancer

If a brain tumor is suspected, diagnosis usually includes various instrumental examinations:

• MRI (may be done with or without contrast)
• positron emission tomography (PET);
• Electroencephalography (EEG).

Imaging techniques allow doctors to see the location of the tumor, determine its size, and determine whether it has grown into nearby tissues. However, in order to accurately diagnose the type of tumor, a biopsy is needed. This is a procedure during which a specialist takes a piece of tumor tissue and then makes a histological analysis of the sample in the laboratory. For this, a stereotactic needle biopsy is performed. The material is taken using a special thin needle. Or tumor tissue can be taken for analysis already during the operation.

Treatment of cancer (tumor) of the brain

In brain oncology, treatment usually includes several methods that the team of doctors selects individually, taking into account the type of cancer, stage, location, general health of the patient, and age characteristics. Such a personalized approach and a combination of different methods makes it possible to find winning therapy tactics for different cases and achieve positive results even with a severe course of the disease.

Removal of a brain tumor

The operation, with the help of which it is possible to completely remove the neoplasm, is considered a priority method of treatment. In certain situations, for example, in the treatment of benign brain tumors, this may be enough for a complete cure.

Modern neurosurgery actively uses minimally invasive surgical methods. Often access to the area of surgical intervention is through the nose or through a small opening in the skull. The operation, as a rule, is carried out under the control of special neuronavigation and MRI systems, contrast agents are used, which allows surgeons to accurately see the boundaries of the neoplasm and carry out its removal with maximum accuracy.

Radiation therapy for brain tumors

The impact on the neoplasm is carried out with the help of precisely directed radiation beams. The method is prescribed before surgery in order to reduce the size of the neoplasm. Radiation therapy after brain surgery is prescribed to destroy single cancer cells, if any remain.

Radiosurgery can be used if traditional surgery is not possible for some reason or if the tumors are small. In this case, a beam of high-intensity radiation is directed to the neoplasm, which destroys the cancerous tumor.

Chemotherapy for brain tumor

This is a method of medicinal action on a malignant neoplasm, in which the patient is prescribed several courses of treatment with special anticancer drugs. These drugs can stop the division of cancer cells and slow down the growth of tumors. Intravenous administration of drugs is possible, they can also be injected into the cerebrospinal fluid or directly into the brain.

Chemotherapy for brain tumors can be used in combination with surgery and radiation therapy, or used as an independent method of treatment.

Targeted therapy is an effective type of chemotherapy that uses drugs that selectively act only on cancer cells, while healthy cells of the body are practically not affected. For malignant brain tumors, this type of treatment is available for some types of neoplasms.

Immunotherapy: the use of cancer vaccines

Immunotherapy is a promising method of treatment for brain tumors. The task of immunotherapy is to activate the body’s defenses, to force its own immune cells to fight cancer. One of the directions of cancer immunotherapy is the use of cancer vaccines. The technique is still being studied and refined, but today vaccination can be part of the treatment of malignant diseases. Doctors use several types of vaccines, which differ in manufacturing features:

• Autovaccine. It is made individually for each patient. It requires neoplasm cells to make it, so it is usually done after the tumor has been removed. Its use can significantly reduce the risk of metastases and increase survival. It works well with other cancer treatments.
• Xenovaccine. It is produced using embryonic proteins of animal origin. After its application, the body “learns” to detect cancer cells and fight them off with the help of its own immune system. This cancer vaccine can also be used as part of a comprehensive treatment and combined with other more standard therapies.

Cancer vaccines are already available for use in some clinics, in particular, you can use them in clinics in Ukraine and Turkey. To learn more about cancer vaccination treatment, please contact us.

Brain cancer – prognosis. How long do people live with brain cancer

Prognosis can differ markedly for different types of tumor. In low-grade tumors, a 5-year survival rate is observed in 80% of cases. In the presence of an aggressive neoplasm, about 15% of patients pass the five-year milestone. However, these are generalized statistics. In each case, the forecast will be individual. And the degree of its positivity will largely depend on how correctly the treatment will be selected.

MedTour will help you find specialists who can choose the best treatment tactics that allow you to use all the possibilities of dealing with the disease in your situation.

Brain cancer treatment – price

The cost of brain cancer treatment depends on many parameters. The price is affected by the following:

• Features of cancer, its type, age of the patient, methods of treatment that will be used.
• The country in which you will receive treatment. In different countries, the cost of the same treatment may differ by an order of magnitude.
• The doctor you are referring to. The higher the status of a doctor, the more expensive the services of such a specialist will be.

Today, many clinics provide qualified cancer treatment. And not necessarily the highest price will mean the best quality. We will help you find effective brain cancer treatment at prices that are affordable to you. To find out the approximate cost of tumor treatment in different clinics of the world and to make preliminary calculations, please contact the coordinating doctor of MedTour.

The best clinics for the treatment of brain cancer

You have the opportunity to undergo brain cancer treatment in the best clinics and get to the leading specialists in this field of medicine from different countries. The MedTour platform has long and productively cooperated with medical centers that use the most advanced treatment methods, perform complex neurosurgical operations, and use all the latest technological innovations.

On the MedTour platform, there are clinics in Turkey, Germany, Israel, Italy and other countries that treat brain tumors. You can get more information about the clinics from the MedTour medical coordinator.

The best doctors for for brain cancer treatment

MedTour will help you get to world-class specialists. For example, you can get a consultation and treatment with Professor Bartolomé Oliver, head of the neurosurgical department at the Teknon Clinic (Spain). Or you can make an appointment with one of the best Israeli neurosurgeons, Nevo Margalit, a leading specialist in neurosurgery at the Herzliya Medical Center (Israel).

To find the most suitable doctor for you, you can browse the list of doctors who specialize in brain tumors on our website. Or you can apply for a free consultation to the medical coordinator of MedTour. Contact us for competent assistance!