Furthermore, brain tumors are more commonly found in men.
The American Brain Tumor Association gives some signs and symptoms which include headaches, seizures, mental changes, personality changes, focal or localized symptoms, and increased pressure to the brain.
The main risk factors for brain tumors are gender, race, age, family history, and radiation exposure.
MALIGNANT GLIOMA: According to WebMD, glioma cells are the cells associated with cancer development in the brain. Symptoms and treatment of malignant glioma (a type of tumor that starts in the brain or in the spine) depend on a few underlying factors such as the patient's age, type of tumor, and most importantly, the location of the tumor.
As one ages, the risk of the severity of the brain tumor increases. Ages 75-84 are the most critical years when brain tumors are found and diagnosed.
If a brain tumor is found in someone younger or even a child, the glioma is typically less severe. It is also important to note smoking, alcohol consumption and talking on cell phones have no relation to the development of brain tumors.
NEW RESEARCH: Doctors are currently testing a new technique that makes it easier to visually see the cancer cells in the brain. Before the operation, patients take a pill called 5-ALA. This pill reacts with natural chemicals in the body.
Then, during the operation, as the surgeons look under the microscope, they are able to distinctly see cancerous cells. Healthy cells turn blue while cancerous cells light up hot pink to red.
Physicians in Germany have reported that fluorescence-guided surgery using 5-ALA improves the chance that a cancer can be completely removed with surgery and improves progression-free survival in the treatment of patients with malignant glioma.
A U.S. study found six months after the procedure was performed, 40 percent of the patients receiving ALA prior to the surgery had no progression in their tumor as opposed to 21 percent of the patients who did not have the fluorescent-guided surgery.
Until now, no nanoparticle used for imaging has been able to cross the blood-brain barrier and specifically bind to brain-tumor cells. Research funded by the National Institutes of Health concluded that this new drug is the next generation of cancer imaging.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Dorothy Packer, R.N.
Allegheny General Hospital
Pittsburgh, PA
(412) 359-6505
dpacker@wpahs.org
