Brain Cancer A brain tumour is a mass of unnecessary and abnormal cells growing in the brain. A tumour that starts in the brain is a primary brain tumour, which in turn may be grouped into "benign" and "malignant" tumours. Primary brain tumours rarely spread outside the brain and spinal cord. In order to be labelled a cancer, a tumour must have the ability to metastisize and spread to other organs of the body. Primary brain tumours rarely behave this way. However, cancer cells which begin growing elsewhere in the body and then travel to the brain, form metastatic brain tumours. All metastatic brain tumours are malignant since they begin as cancer elsewhere in the body. A benign tumour consists of very slow growing cells, usually has distinct borders, and rarely spreads. Treatment and/or surgery is often effective, however, if a benign tumour is located in a vital area of the brain, it can be considered life threatening. A malignant brain tumour is life threatening, invasive, and usually rapid growing. This is in contrast to other malignant tumours of the body that are invasive but grow more slowly. Benign brain tumours can cause problems by pressing on and damaging the surrounding brain tissue; however, they can often be successfully removed. Malignant brain tumours, or brain cancers, vary widely both in the way they grow and the way they respond to treatment. Some are neatly contained within a capsule (encapsulated) and relatively easy to remove. Others have long, thin filaments spreading through the brain, like roots of a plant. Many malignant tumours in the brain are secondary cancers. Your doctor will be able to tell you wether yours is a primary or secondary tumour. It is rare for primary brain tumours to spread to other parts of the body. Brain tumours are generally named for the tissue in which they arise. Names of different types of brain tumours include: gliomas (astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, ependymomas and mixed cell type gliomas), meningiomas, medulloblastomas, chordomas glioblastomas and central nervous system lymphomas.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 15:12:21 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015