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October 2015 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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Certain Factors
Spark Brain Cancer
Development
Tumors are leading cause
of cancer-related deaths in
children
By Charles Sebastian, Staff Writer
Currently, 700,000 people in
the United States are living
with brain tumors.
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The race for the cure continues
for all cancers. Brain cancer has
proven to be particularly vicious
in the many ways it manifests itself
and the randomness of its victims.
Like most growths, tumors of the
brain can be benign or malignant,
non-cancerous or cancerous. Brain
tumors, even non-cancerous ones,
can start to push into and crowd
out other parts of the brain. This,
of course, can cause tremendous
complications and hasten the process of deterioration.
Brain cancers exist not only in
the brain, but also in the central
nervous system (CNS), which
includes the spinal cord. According
to the American Brain Tumor
Association, brain tumors are the
leading cause of cancer-related
deaths in children under age 20
years, after leukemia. The statistics
go down as people get into their 20s
and older. Doctors diagnose 70,000
new cases per year, and more than
4,600 of those patients are aged 19
years or younger. With more than
120 different types of brain tumors,
these account for 14,000 deaths per
year; currently, 700,000 people in
the United States are living with
brain tumors.
The most common of these
tumors are meningiomas, covering
34 percent of the total. These are
cancers of the three connective tissues of the brain and spinal cord.
Those tumors located in the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital
lobes of the brain comprise 22 percent of all brain tumors. Cancers
affecting the pituitary gland represent 13 percent of these masses,
while lymphomas are a mere 2 percent. The gluey tissue of the brain,
which supports the entire structure,
is often affected by tumors. The
general term glioma is used to
describe this type of tumor. There
are many lesser-known tumors that
account for smaller percentages of
the disease.
Certain factors are known to
be a part of brain tumor development, though the degree to which
they allow and hasten the disease
from one person to another differs greatly. Children who have
had radiation exposure to the head
seem to have higher risk factors as
they reach adulthood, and genetic
predispositions such as neurofibromatosis and Li-Fraumeni syndrome
influence future growth. The former
is an autosomal dominant disorder, meaning that only one copy
of the affected gene is needed for
it to develop. The latter develops
after genetic mutations take place
in utero or it is simply inherited.
There are numerous types of neurofibromatosis that can affect skin
and hearing in addition to brain
function. Age has an affect on the
frequency of brain tumors, with the
rate of diagnosis quadrupling for
those over 65 years old.
Malignant tumors are classified
as primary and secondary and may
spread from elsewhere in the body
(metastasis) or begin in the brain.
As for metastatic brain cancer,
about half of the cases originate in
the lungs. Victims may experience
headaches, seizures and vomiting;
problems with walking, vision, sensation and speaking; and changes in
personality. Thirty-three percent of
those affected survive the five-year
mark.
Treatment for brain tumors may
involve surgery, radiation therapy,
chemotherapy and the placement
of a shunt to relieve the fluid on the
brain that results from the disease.
Important in diagnosis and treatment is the gathering of proper support and care.