Skip to main content

Cancer An Introduction to Brain Cancer

Cancer simply is uncontrolled growth of abnormal cell in the body. Cancer is a large, heterogeneous category of diseases in which a group of cells exhibit excessive and uncoordinated growth, invasion that intrudes upon and destroys adjacent tissues, and often metastasizes, where development of secondary deposit in site distant and discontinuous with primary tumor. Our aim is to make this blog a great source for the people who are interested in cancer.



Significance
The brain is the center of thoughts, emotions, memory and speech.
Brain also control muscle movements and interpretation of sensory information (sight, sound, touch, taste, pain etc)
Tumors can effect any part of the brain and depending on what part(s) of the brain it affects can have a number of symptoms.
  • Seizures
  • Difficulty with language
  • Mood changes
  • Change of personality
  • Changes in vision, hearing, and sensation.
  • Difficulty with muscle movement
  • Difficulty with coordination control


Background
  • Estimated 18,400 primary malignant brain tumors will be diagnosed in 2004 —10,540 in men & 7,860 in women.
  • Approximately 12,690 people will die from these tumors in 2004.
  • Accounts for  1.4% of all cancers
  • Accounts for 2.4% of all cancer  related deaths
  • In adults over 45 years of age 90% of all brain tumors are Gliomas 
Gliomas: A general category of cancer that includes astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, and ependymomas
Astrocytoma
  • Astrocytes brain cells abnormally dividing causing tumors called astrocytomas.
  • Astrocytes are glial cells that help nourish neurons– they help repair damage
  • How the astroytomas are classified
o   How close the cells are together within the tumor
o   How abnormal the cells are
o   How many of the cells are proliferating
o   Whether or not there are blood vessels growing near the tumor
o   Whether or not some of the cancer cells have degenerated or not
Astrocytomas--Treatments
  • If tumors have not infiltrated normal brain tissue then surgery can be a cure
  • Low-grade Astrocytomas are not curable by surgery.  However through surgery as much of the tumor as possible is removed and then the patient usually goes through radiation treatment.
  • High-grade Astrocytomas are not curable by surgery.  After surgery has removed as much of the tumor as possible the patient can go through radiation treatment and chemotherapy.
  • Most common drug given to these patients after chemotherapy is BCN
Oligodendrogliomas
  • These tumors start in mutated oligodendrocyte brain cells
  • Oligodendrocytes make myelin which help neurons transmit signals through the axons
  • These tumors may spread through cerebrospinal fluid pathways but typically do not usually spread to locations outside of the brain or spinal cord.
Oligodendrogliomas-Treatments
  • Because these tumors infiltrate normal brain tissue these tumors are not cured through surgery.  However removal of part of the tumors can relieve some symptoms and prolong life.
  • If the tumor is causing disabilities to the patient after surgery the patient may go through chemotherapy, perhaps followed by radiation treatments.
Ependymomas
  • Mutated ependymal cells
  • Ependymal cells line the ventricles in the central area of the brain and they line part of the pathway through which the cerebrospinal fluid travels
  • Theses mutated cells may block the cerebrospinal fluid from exiting the ventricles causing the ventricles to enlarge (hydrocephalus)
Ependymomas-Treatments
  • These tumors do not usually infiltrate normal brain tissue and are therefore curable through surgery.
  • If surgery is unable to completely remove the tumors the patient may try radiation therapy.
Diagnosis
  • These tumors can be detected through a MRI, CT scan or a PET scan.
  • Once detected, depending on where the tumor is located, a biopsy officially is used to diagnosis cancer.
Risk Factors
Most brain cancers happen for reasons unknown, however some small risk factors are
  • Radiation exposure
  • Exposure to vinyl chloride
  • Immune system disorders
Prognosis
  • For people ages 15-44 five year survival rate is 55%
  • For people ages 45-64 five year survival rate is 16%
  • For people over 65 five year survival rate is 5%


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apple Invents a new Health feature for AirPods that will provide diagnosis & monitoring of Bruxism

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a possible future health related feature regarding the diagnosis and monitoring of bruxism using motion sensors in AirPods. Teeth grinding and jaw clenching (bruxism) are the most common parafunctional behavior manifested during sleep and awakeness. Awake bruxism has been mostly associated with emotions like anxiety, stress, frustration or tension. During sleep it causes sleep disorders and arousals. Individuals are mostly unaware of the occurrent and severity of their bruxing habits. The unawareness results in a myriad of orofacial muscle pain and dental consequences like teeth damage, wear and fractures. Commercial devices in dental practice to monitor and treat bruxism are expensive, inconvenient for frequent daily use. For instance, Polysomnography (PSG) studies that target the monitoring of sleep bruxism, require patients to sleep in a clinical setting overnight. Further,
Post a Comment
Read more

Esthetic Oral Rehabilitation with Veneers

Porcelain veneers had long been considered to be only an esthetic solution. However, their range of indications has been steadily increasing, making ceramic veneers a highly viable alternative to classic, far more invasive forms of restorative treatment. Today, veneers can be used to handle esthetics (discolored teeth, fractured and worn teeth, diastemas, dental defects, etc.) and to restore the biomechanics of the dentition, as well as many other indications. Classifications of Veneer Preparations Referred to as no, minimal, or conventional preparation, veneer classifications—or lack there of—create a large gray zone of misunderstanding and miscommunication with patients and within the dental profession. Left unanswered, questions regarding tooth structure removal, finish lines and margins, and other aspects can cause confusion in practice. Flaws and inaccuracies in previously proposed preparation guidelines make those guidelines irrelevant . To dissolve uncertainty, this v
Post a Comment
Read more

Orthodontics for Esthetic Dental Treatment: Symbiotic Efforts for Optimal Results

Human fascination with beauty and esthetic trends is continuously evolving; moreover, public awareness and desire to improve facial appearances are at the highest level. This trend of heightened public awareness and expectation is paving a new way of dentistry toward a more comprehensive approach with esthetic principles at its core. The oral health of the patient and his or her dentition are fundamental in dental treatment. However, the final esthetic outcome should be among the first steps in treatment planning. The ideal esthetic approach in dental treatment planning often requires a multidisciplinary approach engaging various dental professionals. This process requires thorough communication among dental practitioners and a basic understanding of what each discipline can provide. FACIAL ANALYSIS Facial evaluation is an integral part of patient examination. It starts with evaluating facial symmetry, as symmetric faces are considered more beautiful than those that are n
Post a Comment
Read more