Glioblastoma – What is it, Symptoms and Treatments!
Glioblastoma – What it is, Symptoms and Treatments of this condition that few know. In addition, Glioblastoma is a very aggressive type of brain tumor . It is also known as Glioblastoma multiforme. Glioblastoma is one of a group of tumors called astrocytomas.
These tumors start in astrocytes, star-shaped cells that nourish and support nerve cells (neurons) in your brain . However, a glioblastoma can contain many different types of brain cells, including dead brain cells. About 12 to 15 percent of people with brain tumors have glioblastoma .
News of the week:
This type of tumor grows very fast inside the brain . Its cells copy themselves quickly and it has many blood vessels to feed it. However, it rarely spreads to other parts of the body.
Types of Glioblastoma: There are two types of Glioblastoma :
Primary Glioblastoma: It is the most common type of Glioblastoma . It is also the most aggressive form.
Secondary Glioblastoma: It is less common and slower growing. It usually starts from a lower-grade, less aggressive astrocytoma. Secondary glioblastoma affects about 10 percent of people with this type of brain cancer . Most people who get this form of cancer are 45 years of age or younger.
Glioblastomas usually grow in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain . They can also be found in the brainstem, cerebellum, other parts of the brain , and the spinal cord.
Causes of Glioblastoma: Doctors don’t know what causes Glioblastoma . Like other types of cancer , it starts when cells start to grow uncontrollably and form tumors . This cell growth may have something to do with genetic changes.
You are more likely to get this type of tumor if you are:
- Man
- Be over 50 years old
- Be of Caucasian or Asian origin
Glioblastoma Symptoms: Glioblastoma causes symptoms when it putspressure on parts of your brain . If the tumor is not very large, you may not have any symptoms. Which symptoms you have depends on where your tumor is located in the tumor.
Symptoms can include:
- Headaches
- nausea and vomiting
- Somnolence
- Weakness on one side of your body
- Memory loss
- Speech and language problems
- Personality and mood changes
- Muscle weakness
- Double vision or blurred vision
- loss of appetite
- seizures
Glioblastoma Treatments: Glioblastoma can be difficult to treat. It grows rapidly, and has finger-like projections on the normal brain that are difficult to remove with surgery. These tumors also contain many different types of cells. Some treatments may work well on some cells but not on others.
Treatment for Glioblastoma usually involves:
- Surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible
- Radiation to kill any cancer cells that were left behind after surgery
- Chemotherapy with the drug temozolomide (Temodar)
Other drugs that can be used to treat this cancer include:
- Bevacizumab (Avastin)
- Polyfeprosan 20 with carmustine implant (Gliadel)
- Lomustine (CYTOSTAL)
New treatments for glioblastoma are being tested in clinical trials. These treatments include:
- Immunotherapy: Using your body’s immune system to kill cancer cells
- Gene Therapy: Fixing faulty genes to treat cancer
- Stem Cell Therapy: Using early cells called stem cells to treat cancer
- Vaccine Therapy: Strengthening your body’s immune system to fight cancer
- Personalized Medicine: Also called targeted therapy
If these and other treatments are approved, they could one day improve the outlook for people with glioblastoma .
Life Expectancy of Glioblastoma: The median survival time with Glioblastoma is 15 to 16 months in people receiving surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment. The average means that half of all patients with this tumor survive that period of time.
Everyone with Glioblastoma is different. Some people don’t survive very long. Other people can survive up to five years or more, although it is rare.
In Children: Children with higher grade tumors tend to survive longer than adults. About 25% of children who have this tumor live for five years or more.
Extending Life Expectancy: New treatments are extending life expectancy even further. People whose tumors have a favorable genetic marker called MGMT methylation have better survival rates.
Useful links:
MGMT is a gene that repairs damaged cells. When chemotherapy kills Glioblastoma cells , MGMT repairs them. Methylation of MGMT prevents this repair and ensures that more tumor cells are killed.