Brain Cancer - Facts, Causes, and Symptoms

What is brain cancer?

Brain cancer is a disease of the brain in which cancer cells (malignant)  arise in the brain tissue. Cancer cells grow to form a mass of cancer tissue (tumor)  that interferes with brain functions like muscle control, sensation, memory and other body functions. Tumor composed of cancer cells are called malignant tumors, and those composed of mainly noncancerous cells called benign tumors. Cancer cells that develop from brain tissue are called primary brain tumors while tumors that spread from other body sites to the brain are termed metastatic brain tumors. Statistics suggest that the brain cancer occurs infrequently and is likely to develop in about 22,000 new people per year with about 13,000 deaths as estimated by the NCI (National Cancer Institute).

The Facts on Brain Cancer

• Brain cancer can arise from many different types of brain cells (primary brain cancer) or when cancer cells from another part of the body spread (metastasize) to the brain. 
  

• Causes of this cancer are difficult to prove; avoiding compounds linked to cancer production is advised. 
• Symptoms of the brain cancer vary but often include wekness, seizures, difficulty walking, and headaches. Other common symptoms are vomiting, nausea, blurry vision, or achange in a person's alertness, mental capacity, memory, speech, or personality. 
• Tests for developing brain cancer involve a history, physical exam, and usually a CT or MRI brain scan; sometimes a brain tissue biopsy is done. 
• Treatment are directed by a team of doctors and are designed for the individual patient: treatment can/may include surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy,often condition. 
• Side effects of treatments range from mild to severe, and patients need to discuss plans with their treatment team members to understand potential side effects and their prognosis. 
• Depending on type of the developing brain cancer and overall health status of  the patients, brain cancer frequently has only a fair to poor prognosis; children have a somewhat better prognosis. 

Symptoms of Brain Cancer

The exact cause of brain cancer is unknown. Brain cancer that originates in the brain is called a primary brain tumor. Not all brain tumor cause symptoms, and some ( such as tumors of the pituitary gland that cause no symptoms) are found mainly after death, with the death not caused by the brain tumor. The symptoms of brain tumor are numerous and not specific to brain tumors, meaning they can be caused by many other illnesses as well. The only way to know for sure what is causing the symptoms is to undergo diagnostic testing. Early symptoms may not occur, if they do, they occur for the following reasons and are listed below:

• The symptoms are usually caused by the tumor pressing on or encroaching on other parts of the brain and keeping them from functioning normally. 
• The symptoms of primary brain cancers are similar in women, men, and children. 
• Some of the symptoms are caused by swelling in brain primarily caused by the tumor or its surrounding inflammation.

Below are most common symptoms:

• Headache 

• Weakness

• Difficulty waking 

• Seizures 

Other nonspecific symptoms and signs include:

• Nausea, vomiting 
• Difficulty in speech
• Altered mental status: changes in concentration, memory, attention, or alertness
• Gradual changes in intellectual or emotional capacity. 

In many people, the onset of these symptoms is very gradual and may be overlooked by both the person with the brain tumor and the person's family members, even for long time periods. However these symptoms appear more rapidly. In some instances, the person acts as if he or she is having a stroke. In some patients, the symptoms be more pronounced if the cancer is located mainly in a specific brain lobe that is usually responsible for certain body functions. For example, the behavioral changes may predominate in frontal-lobe cancers while difficulty with speech or movements may predominate in cancers within the parietal lobe.

Causes of Brain Cancer


Primary brain tumors arise from many types of brain tissue [ for example glial cells, astrocytes, and other brain cell types ]. Metastatic brain cancer is caused by the spread of cancer cells from a body organ to the brain. However the causes for the change from normal cells to cancer cells in both metastatic and primary brain tumors are not fully understood. Data gathered by research scientists show that people with certain risk factors are more likely to develop brain cancer.

Individuals with risk factors like having a job in an oil refinery, handlers of jet fuel or chemicals like benzene, chemists, embalmers, or rubber- industry workers, show higher rates of brain cancer than the general population. Some families have several members with brain cancer, but heredity as a cause for brain tumor has not been proven. Other risk factors such as smoking, radiation exposure, and viral infection (HIV) have been suggested but not proven to cause brain cancer. There is no enough evidence that brain cancer is contagious, caused by head trauma, or caused by cell phone use. Although many lay press and web articles claim that aspartame ( artificial sweetener) caused brain cancer, the FDA maintains that it doesn't cause brain cancer and base their findings on over 100 toxicological and clinical studies regarding the sweetener's safety.