Glioma – What is it, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments!

Glioma – What it is, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments  that many are unaware of. In addition, Glioma  is a type of tumor that occurs in the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas start in the glue  -supporting cells (glial cells) that surround nerve cells and help them function. Gliomas are  not spread through the bloodstream but can metastasize through the cerebrospinal fluid and cause lesions in the spine referred to as “drop metastases.” Glioma are designated different  category according to their potential to grow and how aggressive they are.

Tumors are classified I through V, where category Mi represents the least serious type of tumor and category V represents the most serious. However, gliomas are commonly referred to as simply “low grade” or “higher grade.”

Types of Glioma:  Three types of glial cells can produce tumors. Glioma  is classified according to thetype of glial cell involved in the tumor. Types of glioma  include:

• Astrocytomas: Astrocytoma is a type of cancer that can form in the brain or spinal cord. Astrocytoma starts in cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells.
• Ependymomas: Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain  or spinal cord. Glioblastoma is made up of cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells.
• Oligodendrogliomas: Oligodendroglioma is a tumor that can occur in the brain  or spinal cord. Oligodendroglioma is formed by oligodendrocytes – cells in the brain and spinal cord that produce a substance that protects nerve cells.

Glioma can affect your brain  function and be life threatening, depending on its location and growth rate. Gliomas are one of the most common types of primary brain tumors. The type of glioma  you have helps determine your treatment and your prognosis. In general, glioma  treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and experimental clinical trials.

Causes of Glioma:  Like most primary brain tumors, the exact cause of gliomas is not known. But there are some factors that can increase your risk of brain tumor.

Glioma Symptoms: Glioma  symptoms  varydepending on the type of tumor as well as the size, location, and growth rate of the tumor. Common signs and symptoms of glioma  include:

• Headache
• nausea or vomiting
• Confusion or decline in brain function
• Memory loss
• Personality changes or irritability
• Difficulty with balance
• Urinary incontinence
• Vision problems, such as blurred vision, double vision, or loss of peripheral vision
• speech difficulties
• Seizures, especially in someone with no history of seizures

Make an appointment with your doctor if you have persistent signs and symptoms that worry you.

Glioma Risk Factors: Risk  factors include:

• Advanced age. Your risk of a brain tumor increases as you age. Glioma  is most common in adults between the  ages of 60 and 80. However, a brain tumor can occur at any age. Certain types of gliomas, such as ependymomas and pilocytic astrocytomas, are more common in children and young adults.
• Radiation Exposure. People who have been exposed to a type of radiation called ionizing radiation have an increased risk of brain tumors. Examples of ionizing radiation include radiation therapy used to treat cancer and radiation exposure caused by atomic bombs. More common forms of radiation, such as electromagnetic fields from power lines and radio frequency radiation from cell phones and microwave ovens, have not been shown to increase the risk of glioma  .
• Family History of Glioma. It is rare for glioma  to run in families. But having a family history of glioma  can double your risk of developing it. Some genes have been weakly associated with glioma  , but more study is needed to confirm the link between these genetic variations and brain tumors.

Glioma Treatments:  Treatment for glioma  depends on the type, size, grade, and location of the tumor, as well as your age, general health, and preferences. In addition to actions to remove the tumor itself, treatment for glioma  may also require the use of drugs to reduce the signs and symptoms of your tumor. Your doctor may prescribe steroids to reduce swelling and relieve pressure on affected areas of the brain . Antiepileptic drugs can be used to control seizures.

Surgery:  Surgery to remove most of the tumor is usually the first step in treating most types of gliomas. In some cases, gliomas are small and easy to separate from the surrounding healthy brain tissue, making complete surgical removal possible. In other cases, the tumors cannot be separated from the surrounding tissue, or they are located near sensitive areas in your brain  and make surgery risky.

In these situations, your doctor removes as much of the tumor as is safe. Even removing a part of the tumor can help reduce its signs and symptoms. In some cases, neuropathologists may analyze tissue samples removed by a surgeon and report the results while the surgery is in progress. This information helps the surgeon decide how much tissue to remove.

A variety of surgical technologies and techniques can be used to assist the neurosurgeon in protecting all healthy brain tissue while removing the tumor, including computer-assisted brain surgery, awake brain surgery, and intraoperative MRI. For example, during awake brain surgery  , you may be asked to move a limb or tell a story during surgery to ensure that the areas of the brain  that control these functions are not damaged.

Surgery to remove a glioma  carries risks, such as infection and bleeding. Other risks may depend on the part of the brain  where the tumor is located. For example, surgery on a tumor near nerves that connect to your eyes could pose a risk of vision loss.

Radiation Therapy: Radiation  therapy usually follows surgery in the treatment of glioma  , especially high-grade gliomas. Radiation uses high-energy beams, such as X-rays or protons, to kill tumor cells. Radiation therapy for glioma  comes from a machine outside your body (external beam radiation).

There are several types of external beam radiation currently used and under study for the treatment of glioma  . The type of glioma  you have, its classification and other prognostic factors are considered in determining the timing and type of radiation therapy you can receive.

Radiation therapy options include using computers to target the brain tumor (intensity modulated radiotherapy), using protons instead of X-rays as the radiation source (proton beam therapy), and stereotactic radiation therapy (radio surgery). ).

Stereotactic radiosurgery is not surgery in the traditional sense. Instead, radiosurgery uses multiple beams of radiation to give a highly focused form of radiation treatment to kill tumor cells in a very small area. Each beam of radiation is not particularly powerful, but the point where all the beams meet – in the brain tumor – receives a very large dose of radiation to kill the tumor cells.

There are different types of technology used in radio surgery to deliver radiation to treat brain tumors, such as a Gamma knife or linear accelerator (LINAC). The side effects of radiation therapy depend on the type and dose of radiation you receive. Common side effects during or immediately after radiation include fatigue, headaches and scalp irritation.

Chemotherapy:  Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill tumor cells. Chemotherapy drugs can be taken in pill form (orally) or injected into a vein (intravenously). Chemotherapy is usually used in combination with radiation therapy to treat gliomas.

The chemotherapy drug most often used to treat gliomas is temozolomide (Temo dar), which is taken as a pill. Chemotherapy side effects depend on the type and dose of medication you receive. Common side effects include nausea and vomiting, headache , hair loss, fever, and weakness. Some side effects can be managed with medication.

Targeted Drug Therapy: Targeted  drug treatments focus on specific abnormalities present in cancer cells. By blocking these abnormalities, specific drug treatments can cause cancer cells to die.

One targeted drug therapy used to treat a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma is bevacizumab (Avastin). This drug, given through a vein (intravenously), stops the formation of new blood vessels, cutting off the blood supply to a tumor and killing the tumor cells.

Rehabilitation after Treatment:  As brain tumors can develop in parts of the brain  that control motor skills, speech, vision and thinking, rehabilitation can be a necessary part of recovery. Your doctor may refer you to services that can help, such as:

• Physical therapy can help you regain lost motor skills or muscle strength
• Occupational therapy can help you get back to your normal daily activities, including work, after a brain tumor or other illness.
• Speech therapy with specialists for speech difficulties (speech pathologists) can help if you have difficulty speaking
• Tutoring for school-aged children can help children cope with changes in their memory and thinking after a brain tumor

Alternative Medicine:  Little research has been conducted on complementary and alternative brain tumor treatments. Alternative treatments have not been proven to cure gliomas. However, complementary treatments can help you deal with your brain tumor and its treatment. Talk to your doctor about your options. Some complementary treatments that can help you cope include:

• Acupuncture
• Hypnosis
• Meditation
• music therapy
• relaxation exercises