Brain Cancer (Neurological Cancers)

Brain cancer and brain tumor are used interchangeably, but not all brain tumors are cancerous (malignant). Malignant brain tumors grow aggressively, overpowering healthy cells and destroying nearby brain tissues. Cancer that begins in the brain (primary brain cancer) is far less common than cancers that begin in other parts of the body. While cancer that starts in the lungs, breast, kidneys or other parts of the body may spread to the brain, primary brain cancer is less likely to spread outside the brain. Although the exact cause of this neurological disease is unknown, your risk increases if you smoke cigarettes, have been exposed to radiation to the head, or have been exposed to certain chemicals. Learn more about the symptoms and treatment for brain and other neurological cancers with expert advice from Sharecare.

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QHow is brain cancer treated?

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A Aurora Health Care answered
Some of the treatments used for neurological cancers include:

Radiation therapy: A sophisticated and effective way to treat many kinds of cancer, radiation oncology uses highly advanced technology and innovative treatment techniques to destroy cancer cells or to prevent diseased cells from growing.

Gamma Knife: Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a state-of-the-art treatment for both benign and malignant brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), and functional neurological disorders.

Surgery: Some neurological cancers are confined and accessible enough to be effectively removed surgically. Surgery is often combined with chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy. Sophisticated brain mapping is used to ensure that the senses are not hindered as a result of surgery.

Chemotherapy: Advances in the effectiveness of cancer-fighting drugs have kept chemotherapy at the forefront in the fight against cancer. Often used in combination with other therapies, chemotherapy is frequently used to combat cancers with or without radiation therapy and surgery.

Autologous stem cell treatment (ASCT): Some cancers once considered untreatable are being successfully treated with autologous stem cell treatment. While research has shown that certain cancers are more effectively treated (and the risk of recurrence can be dramatically reduced) by treating them with higher doses of chemotherapy, that can result in bone marrow failure.

With ASCT, bone marrow failure is prevented by removing stem cells from the blood and preserving them before the patient receives chemotherapy. The stem cells are then reinfused back into the patient after chemotherapy. These stem cells then migrate to the bone marrow where they begin to produce healthy new blood cells.

Cancer immunotherapy: The ability of the immune system to identify and destroy tumor cells has led to its use in cancer treatment. By stimulating the body's immune system, cancer cells may be destroyed without damaging healthy tissue. Cellular cancer vaccines use a patient's cells to trigger the immune system to attack cancerous cells. While traditional vaccines are used to prevent an illness from taking hold, cancer vaccines are used to prevent the existing cancer from spreading, thereby reducing the risk of recurrence.
QHow is a meningioma brain tumor treated?

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A Intermountain Healthcare answered

The treatment of meningioma is often determined by the symptoms which brought the patient to medical attention.
Meningiomas are usually benign, slow growing tumors which originate on the connective tissue coverings of the brain and are not primary brain tumors (those that originate within the brain tissue. They may present with headaches, seizures or other neurological problems/symptoms depending on their location and size. Often these tumors are not causing any neurological symptoms or problems.
Many times meningiomas are found "incidentally". That is the patient receives a brain scan after a head injury, or for some neurological problems which are not the direct result of the meningioma itself. In these situations, if the tumor is of small size and not causing symptoms or problems, these tumors may be simply watched and monitored with serial brain scans. With time sometimes these tumors grow to a size to begin causing neurological problems/symptoms and may need to be removed.
If the meningioma is clearly causing acute and chronic neurological problems, it is likely it will need to be surgically removed. If it is causing seizures sometimes those can be treated with antiepileptic medication until the other aspects of the tumor indicate that it needs to be removed.
Many times these tumors can be treated conservatively, and may never require removal.
QHow is a meningioma diagnosed?

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A Johns Hopkins Medicine answered
A meningioma is diagnosed using the following tests:

A physical exam: This includes questions about the patient's symptoms, personal and family health history, physical exam, and tests of vision, and reflexes.

A neurological exam: This includes questions about the patient's symptoms, personal and family health history, and tests of vision, hearing, balance, coordination, reflexes and ability to think and remember.

Scans of the brain: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT or CAT scan), which use computers to create detailed images of the brain, are the most common scans used to diagnose brain tumors. Meningiomas have distinct radiological characteristics. Scans of meningioma show evidence of a dura tail (attachment to the covering of the brain) and indentation of the brain.

Pathological confirmation: Typically a craniotomy is performed if possible. The tumor is removed and examined under a microscope to determine the pathological characteristics of the tissue. The tumor is then given a pathological grade.
If meningioma is diagnosed, our doctors will determine how serious it is (its malignancy) and its location.
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QWhy are glioblastomas difficult to treat?

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A UCLA Health answered

Glioblastomas, the most common type of malignant brain tumor, grow very fast and can quickly spread to other areas of the brain. So, according to Linda Liau, MD, PhD, director of the UCLA Brain Tumor Program, even with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, most malignant brain tumors will return because it is impossible to remove every cancerous cell.
QWhat causes brain cancer?

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A Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answered
Most of the time, cancerous brain tumors form when cancer spreads to the brain from another part of the body. This happens most commonly with melanoma (skin cancer) and lung, colon, and breast cancer.
Sometimes, cancerous tumors start in the brain. In most cases, the exact cause of these tumors is a mystery. However, some things may raise the risk of certain types of brain tumors, including:

Previous radiation therapy of the head, usually for childhood leukemia

Exposure to the chemical vinyl chloride

Certain genetic disorders, including Von Hippel-Lindau disease, tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis, and Li-Fraumeni, Klinefelter, Cowden, Turcot, Gorlin, and nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndromes

Organ transplant

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome)

Epstein-Barr virus infection
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QCan brain cancer be detected early?

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A Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answered

Unfortunately, no widely advocated tests exist to find brain tumors before symptoms develop. Doctors usually diagnose these tumors because patients start complaining of symptoms. If the cancer is found early, it may help the patient's chance of survival, but the particular type of brain cancer may be a more important factor.

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QHow are meningiomas treated?

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A Johns Hopkins Medicine answered
The treatment for a meningioma will depend on many factors, including:

The location of the brain tumor

Whether the meningioma is benign or malignant

The patient’s general health and preferences regarding potential treatment options
Surgery is the most common treatment for a meningioma. If a meningioma is benign and in a part of the brain where neurosurgeons can safely completely remove it, surgery is likely to be the only treatment needed. For some, total resection surgery is all that is needed for treatment, followed by periodic imaging to monitor any recurrence of a tumor.
The most common type of surgery to remove a meningioma is called a craniotomy. This procedure involves making an incision in the scalp and removing a piece of bone from the skull. The neurosurgeon can then access and remove the tumor, or as much of the tumor as possible without risk of severe damage to the brain. The neurosurgeon then replaces the bone and closes the incision.
Doctors may use radiation therapy after surgery for the most malignant meningiomas or when the neurosurgeon cannot completely remove the meningioma. Radiation therapy is also used to treat meningiomas in locations where surgery is not safe.
For a small meningioma that does not cause any significant signs or symptoms, monitoring the tumor without any immediate treatment, called observation, may be an option. If the meningioma does not grow further, the patient may never need treatment.
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QWhat is a meningioma?

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A Dr. Joshua B. Bederson, MD , Neurosurgery, answered on behalf of The Mount Sinai Health System

A meningioma is a tumor that arises from the meninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. A meningioma does not grow from within the brain, but rather on the surface of the brain or spinal cord, pushing the brain away from it.

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QWhat is the Simpson grading scale?

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A Dr. Isaac Yang, MD , Neurosurgery, answered on behalf of UCLA Health

The Simpson grading scale is used to grade meningioma resection and are divided into five grades. For instance, a Simpson grade five is a resection that is just a biopsy of the meningioma. However, a grade one Simpson meningioma means that doctors were able to remove the entire tumor, including the dura, with surgery. In other words, for each layer down, the grade gets lower.
QWhat kind of surgery is done to remove meningiomas?

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A Dr. Isaac Yang, MD , Neurosurgery, answered on behalf of UCLA Health

When a meningioma is very big, or if the person with meningioma is young, if the tumor is causing a lot of pressure or edema, or it's causing other problems, surgery is required. Doctors do open micro-neurosurgery with a microscope. This is the smallest craniotomy possible. In effect, UCLA doctors try to do a minimally invasive, maximally effective resection of tumors.