On gliomas account for more than half of all brain tumors, the disease affects not only adults but also children. Life expectancy of patients is dependent on the extent of tumors.
What it is?
Glioma - a primary brain tumor, which has specific symptoms, suggestive of the presence of tumors. For accurate diagnosis of the disease is common to use conventional classification of diseases worldwide. Tumors were assigned a code according to ICD 10, describes the causes, symptoms and current stage of malignancy.
Causes of cancer
Scientists have found that tumors arise from the rapid multiplication of immature glial cells. So there are benign and cancerous glioma.
Tumors are generated in the gray or white matter around the central channel, at the rear of the pituitary, cerebellum or cells in the retina. Glioma develops slowly from a small amount of grains to the circular body with a diameter of 10 cm. Metastases spread in rare cases. The exact reasons for the growth of a cancerous glioma are not defined, but the scientists are inclined to believe that they lie at the genetic level, when disturbed TP53 gene structure.
To treat this disease is difficult precisely because of his small study. This tumor has a sharp contours and affects one brain section. Metastases almost never develop.
Classification
Gliomas include various tumors depending on which particular cells were pathological effects. For example, they may arise from the ependyma, astrocytes and other cells. The most widely used the following types:
- Ependymoma - takes about eight percent of all brain tumors, mostly affects the ventricles;
- Diffuse astrocytoma - the disease occurs in every second case. This tumor is usually located in the white matter of the brain. The most common glioma brain stem;
- Mixed tumors - include modified cells of the above types, can occur in any part of the brain;
- Oligodendroglioma - pathology occurs on average every tenth patient out of one hundred. Localized along the ventricles may germinate in the cerebral cortex;
- Neuroma - a tumor originates from the myelin sheaths in character - a benign, but can provoke tissue malignancy. Such a glioma of the optic nerve or optic chiasm glioma;
- Tumors vessels - rarely occurring brain pathology with tumor invasion into vessels;
- Neuronal-glial tumors - the most rare form of the disease is included in the pathological process, both neurons and glial tissue.
symptoms of gliomas
Symptoms of growing gliomas are directly dependent on what part of the brain takes this tumor. Neoplasm and compresses the fabric shell that leads to cerebral symptoms:
- Severe headache pain that are not cropped analgesics and muscle relaxants.
- The advent of gravity in the eyeballs.
- Nausea, occurring as a consequence of pain in the head. Patients complain and periodic vomiting that occurs as the peak of the attack.
- Convulsions.
If glioma squeezes cerebrospinal fluid path and the ventricles of the brain, the developing hydrocephalus and increased intracranial pressure. In addition to the symptoms of brain glioma affects the appearance of focal symptoms of the disease are:
- Dizziness.
- Unsteadiness in normal motion.
- Impaired vision.
- Hearing loss or noise in the ears.
- Disorder of speech function.
- desensitization.
- Decrease in muscle strength, causing paresis and paralysis.
In patients with brain glioma detected and mental changes, manifested disorders of all types of memory and thinking, certain behavior disorders.
developmental stage
According to the International Classification of Diseases, the stage of tumor development are assessed on the degree of danger to the patient's life. The disease can be divided into four groups or stages of development:
- 1 degree - benign tumors with a tendency to slow development. It has the most favorable course of the disease. If timely measures taken, it is possible to prolong the patient's life up to 8-10 years. This degree corresponds to a congenital benign glioma.
- 2nd stage - the tumor is slowly, but with increasing regularity in size. It appears the first signs of degeneration in the malignancy. Signs of deterioration manifested in a constant build-up of neurological and other symptoms.
- 3 degree - anaplastic glioma. In the third stage the disease has symptoms that are typical of cancer. Prediction of life does not exceed 2-5 years. Metastasis to other areas of the body is not, but sometimes there is the spread of cancer in different regions of the hemisphere.
- The prognosis of diffuse glioma brain stem is extremely poor. The patient rarely lives more than 2 years.
- Grade 4 - volume formation of malignant nature with a tendency to rapid tumor growth. Prognosis is poor. The term of life of the patient up to 1 year. At this stage, diagnosed inoperable malignant glioma.
Diffuse glioma in young patients treated radiologically. After a brief improvement of the disease returns in a more severe form.
Diagnostics
Gliomas with a low coefficient of malignancy is rarely diagnosed in the initial stages, because they may not have clinical symptoms. In most cases, they are detected during the computer or magnetic resonance tomography after craniocerebral injury or for inspection of vascular diseases. In such situations, the brain research neurologists prescribe. With the loss of vision or hearing, patients turn to a narrow direction professionals who should be aware of the insidious pathology in the brain.
To adequately assess the patient's brain glioma directed to magnetic resonance imaging. It is this form of diagnosis allows precise manner in three-dimensional image to determine the location of the tumor, its size and the affected area.
Depending on the symptoms the patient may be referred for echoencephalography, multi-voksalnuyu or magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or positron emission tomography. For the most accurate diagnosis is assigned a biopsy - a microscopic examination of the biological material.
Treatment of brain glioma
The only method to help achieve significant improvements in patient well-being, it is the brain neurosurgery. The operation is complicated by the fact that the surgeon any errors lead to serious disorders of the human body functions, paralysis and death.
Removal of brain glioma is carried out by several methods:
| endoscopy | using an endoscope introduced into the cranial cavity surgical instruments and a video camera. After removal of the tumor chemotherapy. Repeated surgery to remove a glioma requires more than 50% of cases. |
| Radiotherapy | used in the early stages of cancer and as a preventive method after surgery. |
Glioma formation has genetic causes. Therefore, the tumor can be formed again after the operation. The use of genetically engineered drugs can reduce the size of malignancy and to facilitate the operation.
These newer drugs act on cancer cells, killing. Tumor size does not change, the patient can live longer without pain. Formulations of genetic engineering allows to avoid re-operation.
life expectancy
Gliomas, regardless of their location, are a group of incurable disorders. Survives only a quarter of patients, and it is primarily defined as those addressed at an early stage and localization of glioma allows for successful operation.
With the high-grade people live from one year to two years. But even with effective treatment in 80% of cases there is a relapse of disease.
