Subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) is a noncancerous brain tumor. It can cause problems by growing. One of the main problems it can cause is obstruction of the brain fluid from being normally circulated throughout the brain. An obstruction of the brain fluid can cause a very serious and sometimes life-threatening problem where surgery may be needed right away. But if this is detected early and followed, most of the time it can be treated with a specific medication called everolimus. This tends to shrink the tumors the vast majority of the time. If that doesn't work, then surgery is always an option.
Brain Tumors
When irregular cells form a mass in the brain tissue, the result is a brain tumor. Some brain tumors are benign, while others become cancerous (malignant). Brain tumor symptoms range from headaches and seizures to loss of balance, vision changes, confusion and memory loss. The tumor's size and location, as well as your age and health, play a large part in deciding a course of treatment. Learn more about diagnosing and treating brain tumors with expert advice from Sharecare.
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Dr. Robert A. Wascher, MD , Surgery, answered on behalf of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA)See All 4 AnswersA metastatic brain tumor is a cancerous tumor that began in another part of the body, and has then spread (or "metastasized") to the brain.
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Dr. Simeon Jaggernauth, DO , Oncology, answered on behalf of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA)Some of the newer agents used to treat brain tumors involve medications that block angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the process of overproducing blood vessels from surrounding circulation to create a network of blood supply so that the tumor may grow larger (i.e. new blood vessel formation). Brain tumors called glioblastomas multiforme (GBM) are an aggressive type of brain tumor that is highly vascularized and responds best to agents that stop angiogenesis. Bevacizumab (Avastin) is a monoclonal antibody that is FDA approved for use in GBM. Sometimes other agents are combined with Avastin to increase the response rate of the chemotherapy. -
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See All 2 AnswersAwake brain surgery is an advanced neurosurgical procedure used to remove brain tumors. During awake brain surgery, you will remain alert and responsive at various times during the surgical removal of infiltrative brain tumors, such as gliomas.
Brain mapping may also be used if your surgeon is searching for the areas of the brain responsible for seizures (epilepsy). Your being awake helps the surgical team locate more precisely the boundary between the tumor and the high-functioning cortical and subcortical white matter fibers, facilitating surgical removal of the tumor. -
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Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is particularly useful for people with metastatic brain tumors (brain tumors that spread to the brain from somewhere else) who cannot safely have surgery due to the risks associated with anesthesia.
SRS may not be recommended in some instances. You may not be a candidate for stereotactic radiosurgery if you have:- multiple tumors
- tumors that too large for radiosurgery
- excessive brain swelling
This content originally appeared online at UCLA Health. -
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See All 2 AnswersBrain surgery in some patients may be the best treatment for tumors, especially when the tumor can be removed without damaging the surrounding brain tissue.
The primary purpose of surgery is to confirm that the abnormality seen during testing is actually a tumor, and to remove the tumor.
When dealing with sensitive parts of the brain, a tumor may only be partially removed, but that could be enough to alleviate certain symptoms and allows for other treatments to proceed.
In mostly the cases of benign tumors, symptoms can be completely cured by surgical removal of the tumor. The neurosurgeon will attempt to remove the entire tumor when possible.
Stereotactic radiosurgery is a newer "knifeless" procedure that destroys a brain tumor without opening the skull. A CT or MRI scan is used to pinpoint the exact location of the tumor in the brain. -
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Dr. Daniel A. Nader, DO , Pulmonary Disease, answered on behalf of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA)Targeted chemotherapy is treatment that’s specific to a molecular mutation in the tumor. An example of a targeted chemotherapy agent is Tarceva (Erlotinib). This drug is targeted for a specific mutation that's found in lung cancer called epidermal growth factor receptor. If tumors are found to have this receptor, these targeted drugs can be very helpful in reducing the size and more effectively managing that particular cancer.