Initial symptoms of brain cancer. What causes brain cancer? Radiation or radiation therapy

Brain cancer– malignant or benign neoplasm in the brain. The tumor compresses or even destroys brain structures, which leads to many somatic and mental disorders.

Symptoms in men, women and children

The main symptoms of brain cancer are similar in all age groups:

permanent headache;
dizziness;
decline body weight;
nausea, vomit;
violations visual perception: double vision, darkening, etc.;
violations hearing;
violation coordination of movements, gait, balance;
convulsions;
epileptic seizures;
numbness half body;
promotion or demotion pain, temperature and other types of sensitivity;
disturbances of mnestic functions: a person may forget the faces of loved ones, his name, how words or events from his life are written;
speech disorders: problems with the articulatory apparatus, inability to recognize the speech of other people, etc.;
autonomic disorders: the autonomic nervous system (ANS) suffers, which leads to changes in pressure, body temperature, feelings of chills or heat, etc.;
cognitive impairment: In connection with other symptoms, a person’s mental activity is also affected. The patient cannot perform many mental operations, disturbances in thinking appear (its inhibition or fragmentation);
visual disturbances often occur, auditory, gustatory, kinesthetic hallucinations.

In addition to the above symptoms, children experience the following manifestations:

long overgrowth of fontanelles;
increase brain volume;
appearance indentations on the fingers;
thinning cranial bones of the cranial vault;
distortion of cranial sutures.

If the child is too young to objectively express symptoms, then disorders may be expressed:

frequent crying, screaming, whims;
hysterical manner of behavior;
nervousness;
vomiting;
in the future In the development of the tumor, convulsions and changes in the fundus of the eye are observed (swelling appears eyeball, small hemorrhages in the white layer, etc.).

Forecasts

Depending on the stage of the cancer, different prognoses are possible. There are many cases where people completely recovered in the presence of the first, second or even third stage, or an increase in the duration of relapses was observed.

At the first stage The prognosis is quite favorable, complete recovery is possible if all treatment rules and regimens are followed. With a less favorable prognosis, such patients are given from 3 to 6 years.
At the second stage the prognosis is not so favorable. At this stage, tumors begin to grow into adjacent tissues. Treatment in this case will only be with surgical intervention. Unfortunately, not everyone can undergo the required number of operations due to factors such as age, concomitant diseases, etc. Such patients are usually given a period of 2-4 years.
At the third stage The prognosis is often not favorable, and life expectancy depends on various factors. For example, the risk of death increases by 80%, if the patient's age is more than 60 years.

The younger the body, the longer it can fight the disease. The outcome also depends on individual characteristics body, treatment method, as well as support from loved ones. Such patients are given from 2 months to 2 years.

At the fourth stage It is not customary to talk about the patient’s expected life expectancy, because V 90% In most cases, stage 4 cancer leads to death. However, the patient can survive on drug therapy for several more years. The problem is that this type of therapy causes complications on other relatively healthy systems of the body, which can lead to fatal outcome.

Causes

In many cases it is very difficult determine the cause of brain cancer. There were no obvious causes in the patient's medical history; in this case, they most often talk about genetic predisposition or negative impact ecology.

Main reasons:

Injuries brain: bruises, concussion, tissue damage;
HIV infection;
Genetic predisposition;
Tobacco smoking;
Alcoholism;
Reception narcotic drugs;
Unhealthy nutrition;
Radiation exposure (radiation sickness);
Long-term impact harmful substances in production (chemical production, metallurgy)

Stages of brain cancer

Initial stage. New growths at the first stage often become a benign tumor and are surgically removed or treated. Also read about here.

This includes such new formations as:

glioma- affects the central nervous system;
meningioma- affects the meninges and often turns out to be a benign neoplasm. We previously wrote about.
pituitary adenoma leading to damage to the pituitary gland;
neurolegmoma, is benign in nature.

Most often at this stage the prognosis positive.

At the second stage the neoplasm spreads to nearby tissues. Cell growth is slow but constant.Different rapid growth neoplasms and their spread. Here relapses and a successful outcome of the disease are possible;
The last stage of the disease. At this stage, the tumor is always malignant. Cancer cells grow rapidly and spread to healthy organs, lymphatic system ceases to cope, metastases appear. The lesions are too extensive to respond to surgery or chemotherapy.

In order not to miss the onset of the disease, you need to know about the symptoms early stage:

Diagnosis of brain cancer

Diagnostics of this disease is a rather complex process, because final diagnosis may be issued at histological or cytological analysis tumors. This analysis is the collection of tissue from a neoplasm. To do this, it is necessary to open the skull and perform a complex neurosurgical operation.

Most often, patients do not suspect they have cancer and seek help from a therapist or neurologist. The specialist conducts differential diagnosis with other diseases, and with similar symptoms, an MRI of the brain is mandatory, which usually reveals the presence of a neoplasm.

The following are used for diagnosis: instrumental methods:

MRI(magnetic resonance imaging);
PAT(positron emission tomography);
CT – CT scan;
EEG(electroencephalography);
Biopsy;
Neurological examination: checking reflexes, the presence of pathological reflexes, checking skin and pain sensitivity;
Neuropsychological examination.

Treatment

Brain cancer is mainly treated only with medication or surgery, but in the last few decades new methods of therapy have appeared:

Firstly, it is produced symptomatic treatment – withdrawal pain syndrome, motor disorders, relief of hallucinations, etc.
Secondly, cancer in later stages is treated with surgery. If the tumor has not affected neighboring tissues and has not metastasized, the prognosis for surgical intervention is favorable.
Third, chemotherapy is used. Using special chemicals that are toxic to the tumor (and, unfortunately, to the body).
Fourthly, the patient undergoes radiation therapy. It is used after surgical intervention, in order to prevent the occurrence of metastases and recurrence of the tumor.
Fifthly, it is possible to use a relatively new method– cryosurgery. During this therapy, cancer cells inside the damaged organ are frozen. This does not affect healthy tissue.

Treatment usually takes place under conditions hospital, because Only there, under the supervision of medical personnel, is comprehensive patient care possible. Patients with advanced stage cancer are especially in need of this type of treatment, because... The disease progresses rapidly and symptoms become more severe.

Inpatient treatment is also carried out if surgical intervention is necessary. First the patient undergoes chemotherapy to reduce the tumor and get rid of metastases. Afterwards the operation is performed, and postoperative period – irradiation tumors.

It is important to know that timely consultation with a doctor, as well as annual examinations and tests, can help diagnose cancer in the early stages and avoid serious consequences.

18.09.2016

Instructions

Nonspecific signs of brain cancer include: unexplained progressive weight loss, deterioration in health, fatigue, loss of strength. Often these signs are taken as manifestations of a non-dangerous disease, chronic fatigue or hypovitaminosis.

Specific signs of brain cancer, in turn, are divided into focal, depending on the location of the tumor, and general cerebral, caused by the development of the oncological process in the brain, compression of brain tissue by the tumor and increased intracranial pressure.

The most common cerebral symptom is headache. It is observed in approximately half of patients and is not relieved by usual medicines, may worsen when tilting the head, coughing or sneezing, often depends on the time of day (worsen in the morning and weaken in the evening). Over time, attacks become more frequent, and as the disease progresses, the pain becomes permanent.

General signs of cancer also include: dizziness independent of body position, drowsiness, and otherwise unexplained nausea and vomiting. In this case, there is no relief after vomiting. Violation cerebral circulation leads to deterioration of vision.

The nature and severity of focal symptoms depend on where the neoplasm is located and how seriously affected certain areas are. Thus, with damage to the cerebellum, deterioration in coordination and unsteadiness of gait are observed; if the tumor is located in the area of the pituitary gland or hypothalamus, endocrine disorders.

Focal symptoms also include visual and hearing impairments that occur when the tumor is localized in the visual or epileptic seizures caused by constant irritation of the cerebral cortex, sensitivity disorders skin receptors(patients lose the ability to feel heat, cold, pain), attacks of aggression or apathy.

Suspicion of brain cancer may arise if the patient long time There is a decrease in the ability to concentrate, memory disorders, and impaired speech perception. There are hallucinations caused by the tumor process, mental disorders, paralysis, convulsions.

Signs of brain cancer do not appear overnight. The disease develops gradually, its first manifestations are often ignored or mistaken for symptoms of other diseases. The headache may be like early sign cancer, and appear at a late stage of the disease, most of other symptoms become pronounced when the tumor reaches a significant size, which significantly complicates the timely diagnosis.

Brain oncology is an extremely serious and serious disease, the outcome of which quite often leads to the death of the patient.

The disease is extremely dangerous. And not only because clinical manifestations and severity, but also because the first signs of brain cancer are very easy to miss and not notice, which will give rise to a stronger development of the disease.

Therefore, it is important to know what symptoms and signs of a brain tumor may be in the early stages in order to identify signs of the tumor in time and begin treatment.

Causes of cancer formation

genetic inheritance. In addition to inheriting a special gene from relatives, the precursor to oncology is genetic diseases(for example, tuberculous sclerosis, Gorlin syndrome);
elderly age. The older a person is, the more susceptible he becomes to the disease. IN childhood there are also chances of developing a tumor, but they are much less than in the elderly and if they do occur, they usually affect atypical places for localization and are quickly diagnosed;
gender. Women are more susceptible to developing brain tumors than men. In addition, race also plays a role: white people develop brain cancer more often than representatives of other races;
irradiation. Radiation and carcinogens significantly influence the development of the disease. For example, with increased harmfulness of production, long-term contact with heavy metals;
HIV infection. Patients, as a rule, live in a constantly reduced immune system, which increases the possibility of not only tumors, but also other diseases. In organ transplantation with HIV infection, the recipient also becomes susceptible to developing brain cancer.

In addition, there are secondary tumors, which are metastases. They appear due to the development of other types of oncology, in other organs, but metastases can spread throughout the body.

If a person has metastases, then the symptoms that are present in the patient will also be characteristic - as with brain cancer, because they are the same malignant neoplasms as true brain cancer, only with the formation of tumors secondary.

Types of tumors

There are two main types: benign and malignant neoplasms. Only malignant tumors pose a mortal threat to the patient, while benign ones can be with a person all his life and not cause complications.

But rebirth is possible benign tumor and cancer develops, then it begins to show bright symptomatic picture and changes a person’s life completely.

The first signs of brain cancer

The main threat lies in the unnoticed development of the tumor and the course of symptoms. People simply don’t notice most of them and chalk them up to fatigue, bad weather, pressure and so on. Ignoring such symptoms of early-stage brain cancer allows the disease to develop stronger and become more dangerous.

Brain cancer can develop unnoticed by the patient, and symptoms in the early stages are simply invisible. It happens that only after the development of brain cancer to the third or fourth stage, the clinical picture of the disease manifests itself with all its force and then the disease can be recognized.

Therefore, it is extremely important to pay attention to any symptoms of brain cancer and undergo routine annual examination to detect cancer early.

The first symptoms of cancer appear as general cerebral ones:

headache;
dizziness;
double vision;
impairment of vision or hearing;
decreased brain activity;
hallucinations of various types;
increased irritability;
euphoria;
behavior change;
a sharp decrease in body weight;
fatigue, weakness.

But, nevertheless, the signs and symptoms have their differences. For example, headaches develop to such a degree that a person begins to vomit. The pain is systematic, the same.

Symptoms of brain cancer can be completely different and depend on where the tumor is located and at what stages of growth and development it is. Dizziness occurs suddenly and does not change when changing body position. Sudden weight loss of the patient without obvious reason will lead the doctor to think about the presence of a hidden oncological process.

It is important to understand that the first signs of brain cancer mean that the process has already begun and how quickly it will be resolved the right decision- seek help from doctors, so you can stop the growth of tumor cells and undergo surgery to remove the tumor.

It all depends on the location of the tumor

Each area of the brain is responsible for its own functions, and only correct work all departments can maintain constant homeostasis of the body. The tumor can be located in absolutely any part of the brain and the clinical picture development of symptoms.

The location of the tumor in the frontal lobe (glioma) causes epileptic seizures, mental disorders, coordination of movements - there may be disturbances in walking, involuntary twitching.

Tumor in temporal lobe has quite characteristic symptoms, manifested in hallucinations. They can be different: gustatory, visual, tactile or olfactory.

Development in the parietal lobe entails a violation motor functions. There may be paresis in various combinations, tremors, it becomes difficult for a person to hold objects, involuntary twitching.

A tumor in the occipital lobe is characterized by affecting the visual center. Patients may have visual disturbances, but usually without a decrease in visual acuity. That is, visual fields may fall out, there may be hallucinations, or, most often, the appearance of circles, stars, dots or other figures. This symptom differs in that the appearance of the figures is always recorded in only one place.

Tumor growth in the pituitary gland causes double vision, drooping of the eyelid (on the side on which the tumor is located), and impaired eye movement.

If the tumor affects the hypothalamus, short-term disturbances or clouding of consciousness are observed.

The clinical picture of the disease depends on the location of the tumor. But besides this, the size of the tumor and the stage of development of the process affect the severity, duration and possible addition of other symptoms to general condition patient.

Diagnostics

After a patient comes to the hospital with complaints, he is prescribed instrumental examination and taking tests. If the suspicion of cancer turns out to be correct, the patient is urgently hospitalized, treatment is developed and prescribed, and relatives are issued a certificate of temporary disability of the patient.

How to identify the disease?

Now you know that signs of the disease may be invisible and it is important to diagnose brain cancer in time, before the tumor processes have fully developed. Even a simple blood test will show the presence inflammatory processes and the doctor will order an examination to identify the cause.

Useful to know: Brain hematoma: causes, signs and risk factors

As a rule, a detailed medical history is collected from the patient and laboratory and instrumental research methods are prescribed: CT, MRI, lumbar puncture, angiography. If a tumor is detected in the brain during examination, a diagnostic biopsy is prescribed to determine the presence pathological process and start treatment.

Treatment of the disease

For brain cancer, complex treatment is most often prescribed after a consultation, where doctors of different specializations develop special treatment for each patient individually. It all depends on the stage of the process, the age of the patient, the presence concomitant diseases, number of metastases, tumor size.

As a rule, this is a combination of drug therapy and surgery, since brain cancer is extremely aggressive and quickly depresses the patient. Developing symptoms only worsen the course of the disease. If you manage to defeat the disease at an early stage, then the symptoms of brain cancer recede and your health improves significantly.

Disease prognosis

For brain cancer, the prognosis depends on many factors. At stages 1 and 2, after surgery and drug therapy, the prognosis is quite favorable. The patient quickly regains consciousness, is discharged home and remains under the supervision of an oncologist.

At stage 3 or 4, the prognosis is much worse. Symptoms significantly worsen the patient's condition, aggressive drug therapy And surgical intervention cannot provide a 100% guarantee that other organs have not been attacked by cancer cells.

Symptoms and causes of brain cancer depend on the location of the tumor. However, doctors also point out general symptoms. Despite the fact that scientists are conducting numerous studies of the brain and the nature of the origin of tumors, all the factors that can trigger the development of oncology have not yet been studied. Some of the factors have not been confirmed, while others still require additional research.

Symptoms of brain cancer

Brain cancer is diagnosed in 2% of cases of all other types of malignant tumors. The complexity of this disease lies in the fact that it is impossible to radically remove the tumor. Doctors would like to be able to cure people of this disease, but when it is diagnosed, it is more about improving the person’s quality of life, rather than effective treatment.

A tumor in the brain can be benign or malignant. Depending on the type, the development of the disease may be different character. Thus, with a benign tumor, symptoms develop gradually over several years. Often the disease does not make itself felt, and its symptoms may appear in the form of an exacerbation.

With a malignant brain tumor, symptoms appear suddenly, are pronounced and increase as the disease progresses. As a rule, the disease manifests itself in the form of a stroke or other vascular disease, meningoencephalitis or infectious disease.

Doctors divide the symptoms of brain cancer into several groups.

Types of symptoms for brain cancer

In medicine, it is customary to distinguish between focal and general cerebral symptoms.

Focal symptoms depend on the location of the tumor. Depending on this, the tumor affects different centers of the brain, which explains the difference in symptoms.

Doctors classify the following symptoms as focal:

Amnesia. Memory loss is a common symptom that can appear with brain cancer. It manifests itself in the fact that people forget significant events, dates, loved ones, etc.
Speech impairment. A person may experience difficulties with writing, reading, and oral speech may also be impaired.
Impaired sensitivity. The patient may inadequately assess heat, cold, painful sensations, own body.
Personal changes. A person’s character and personality traits may change.
Paralysis, paresis. Paralysis or paresis caused by cancer can be mistaken for a stroke.

In addition, failures may occur hormonal system or the act of urination or defecation is disrupted (the process may become difficult or, on the contrary, uncontrollable).

General cerebral symptoms

This group of symptoms accompanies the disease regardless of which area of the brain is affected by the cancerous lesion. What causes such symptoms? Doctors associate it with increased intracranial pressure. Oncology causes the following symptoms:

Headache. In most cases, headache is the first sign that occurs against the background of cancer. The pain is so intense that conventional painkillers are weak. Therefore, it is necessary to relieve pain with the help of stronger drugs.
Feeling nauseous. Nausea occurs due to the impact of a cancer focus on a certain center in the brain. Sometimes it can be so strong that the patient has to take special drugs to eliminate an unpleasant symptom.
Vomit. Nausea often causes vomiting. However, vomiting is often a consequence of damage to one or another center. Vomiting is usually not associated with food or liquid intake. As a rule, it is sudden, very strong, and flows like a fountain. In this case, it is necessary to monitor so that dehydration does not occur, since the patient loses a large amount of fluid along with vomiting. Often, in order to prevent dehydration and replenish lost fluid, a person needs to take special medications.
Disturbances in the functioning of the vestibular apparatus. Coordination of movements is very often disturbed, and the head becomes dizzy. When dizziness begins, patients complain of noise and ringing in the ears, and hearing loss.

Another group of symptoms is mental.

Mental symptoms in cancer

Against the background of increased intracranial pressure, impaired blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, hypoxia, degenerative processes in the structure of the cortex cerebral hemispheres, intoxication, etc., mental symptoms may also develop.

Doctors point to the following signs:

impaired concentration;
stunned state;
memory impairment;
decrease or absence of a critical attitude towards oneself, towards other people, and one’s state of health;
lack of initiative;
apathy, indifference;
violation of associative processes.

Oncology is often accompanied by mental syndromes that have diagnostic value.

Relationship between tumor location and symptoms

Doctors indicate that symptoms may change or be supplemented depending on which area of the brain is affected by the tumor.

Frontal lobe damage. There is a change in the personality and character of a person. The patient is lethargic, indifferent to everything, inert, intellect and memory suffer. Marked sharp changes moods - from aggressiveness and excitement to euphoria and good nature. A person loses a critical attitude towards himself and his condition, becomes frivolous and unkempt (especially in relation to urine and feces). Behavior becomes strange.
Damage to the temporal lobe. A person begins to hallucinate - auditory, gustatory, olfactory.
Damage to the temporo-occipital lobe. The patient experiences visual hallucinations.
Damage to the parietal lobe. A person complains of pain in his arms and legs.

Doctors indicate that in the early stages of the development of the disease, patients may experience epileptic syndrome.

Causes of brain cancer

Despite the fact that doctors conduct a lot of research on the brain, it is still not completely clear why brain cancer develops. However, doctors indicate that brain cancer may have the following causes:

Traumatic brain injury. Mechanical stress can cause cancer. Therefore, for any head injury, it is better to see a doctor and, if necessary, undergo an examination.
Genetic predisposition (heredity). Doctors have not yet been able to definitively prove the influence of genes on the development of brain cancer, but developments in this direction are underway.
Bad ecology. In particular, the factor cancer-causing brain is radiation.
Work in hazardous production. For example, carcinogenic substances increase the risk of developing cancer.

According to doctors, these 4 factors are most likely to influence the development of brain cancer.

Factors such as cell phones, nicotine addiction And viral diseases, do not increase the risk of development. Studies conducted by doctors have not proven the relationship between these factors and the development of the disease.

Thus, the causes of brain cancer are no different from those that provoke the development of malignant tumors in other parts of the human body.

Content

A tumor is a pathology in which uncontrolled division of brain cells occurs, resulting in the formation of a mass of tissue. The progression of the disease is accompanied by increased blood flow in the organ, increased intracranial pressure and the manifestation of the first symptoms of oncology.

Types of tumor

Brain cancer is called malignancy which occurs in organ tissue. Not all tumors are oncological, but only those that develop from epithelial tissue. Most formations have a different basis, but in everyday life they are also often called cancer. The percentage of brain cancer diagnoses is only 5% of all cases of malignant neoplasms.

The extent of the disease is usually described using stages. However, for brain cancer no standard system classifications by periods of development. Initial neoplasms may appear in the central nervous system (spinal cord and brain), but they rarely spread to other parts of the body. To choose the right treatment method, brain tumors are classified according to the type of cells on which the cancerous growth arose, their location and degree of malignancy.

Benign

This type of cancer is characterized by passivity after the end of the growth period. Benign tumors, unlike malignant ones, do not grow into neighboring tissues. Neoplasms have clear growth boundaries, which are determined using MRI or CT. It is extremely rare that such brain cancer metastasizes or progresses to malignant appearance. As a rule, benign formations are treated without surgery and do not recur in the future.

The reasons why a benign tumor may occur are unknown. However, doctors suggest that there are predisposing factors:

harmful effects of radiation on humans;
heredity;
the presence of Turco or Gorlin syndromes;
prolonged human contact with chemicals(formaldehyde, vinyl chloride, etc.).

Benign neoplasms can present with the same symptoms as malignant ones. This is explained by compression of brain tissues and structures during the development of tumors. Therefore, the type of cancer is not as important as the location of the formations. Even with a slow growth rate of a benign tumor, lack of treatment can cause acute focal symptoms.

Malignant

This is a pathological formation that appears in the nervous tissue of the brain. Malignant tumors can grow quickly and often spread to neighboring tissues, stimulating their transformation. This type of formation, as a rule, consists of immature cells of nervous tissue or of cells brought into the organ by blood from other parts of the body. Malignant tumors are divided into primary and secondary. The first are formed from nerve cells(brain glioma).

Often, brain cancer begins to develop as a result of metastasizing malignant cells localized in other human tissues. Such tumors are considered secondary. Pathogenic substances enter the blood and are carried throughout the body, including the brain. Sometimes metastases appear in several areas of the organ at once and begin to grow, forming tumors.

Stages of the disease and their symptoms

The degree of brain cancer is what determines the patient's life expectancy. A feature of the disease is that tissue transformations often occur in the central nervous system. The stage of brain cancer can be determined using additional methods diagnostics The information obtained serves as a guide when prescribing treatment by a doctor. There are only 4 stages of cancer development, each of which is characterized by certain symptoms:

First stage ( First stage). When brain cancer is detected at this stage of development, the prognosis is favorable: treatment is completed in most cases full recovery. The first symptoms of brain cancer, as a rule, are either not expressed at all or are barely noticeable. This is due to the slow growth of the tumor.
Second stage. The tumor grows and affects certain brain structures. If the disease is not detected at this stage, then the person’s life is in serious danger. Stage 2 symptoms are nausea, high blood pressure, headaches, frequent dizziness, memory lapses, mood swings, difficulty concentrating.
Third stage. The active growth of the tumor begins, which penetrates even deeper into the tissues and structures of the brain. This causes serious dysfunction nervous system. Symptoms of the third stage are: rapid weight loss, anemia, high fatigue, vomiting, suppressed immunity, convulsions, numbness of the limbs, problems with hearing, vision, memory, speech, and lack of coordination.
Fourth stage (last). Cancer at this stage is incurable, and the tumor is inoperable. The disease is accompanied by irreversible changes not only in the central nervous system, but also in organs included in the area controlled by the part of the brain affected by tumors. In addition to the symptoms listed above, the patient may develop paralysis/paresis, experience a change in personality (if the frontal lobe is affected), impaired sense of smell, etc.

How to recognize brain cancer at an early stage

Signs of cancer at first are often almost invisible, so it is rarely possible to diagnose stage 1 cancer. At first the disease proceeds without characteristic symptoms, is hidden. Primary signs of brain cancer are noticeable after direct damage to the central nervous system or nerve structures of brain tissue by the tumor. Sometimes symptoms become noticeable when the tumor has grown to such a size that it puts pressure on the brain tissue.

In adults

The rate of development of symptoms depends on the location of the tumor and the specific characteristics of its growth. Brain cancer appears when the tumor begins to put pressure on certain areas of the organ. The first symptoms of the disease in women and men are:

frequent dizziness;
incessant headaches that get worse in the morning or when a person takes certain positions;
drowsiness, weakness, apathy.

In children and adolescents

Symptoms of childhood brain cancer become apparent later than in adults. Often, primary signs can be identified after a child has suffered an infection or injury. The most common forms of cancer in children are medulloblastomas and gliomas. The first disease is a congenital tumor that is located in the cerebellum. Glioma is characterized by the development of neoplasms in the brain stem and glial cells of the cerebellum. Cancer manifests itself in children with focal and cerebral symptoms:

loss of appetite, weight loss;
dysfunction of the vestibular apparatus;
vomiting/nausea;
systematic headaches (however, this symptom often appears in children at a late stage);
hallucinations, fainting;
high fatigue, weakness, drowsiness;
convulsions;
speech disorders, double vision (with damage to the cerebral cortex).

Signs of brain cancer

Fatigue, frequent drowsiness, loss of interest in what is happening.
Sharp deterioration in hearing and vision.
Ringing (noise) in the ears.
Memory impairment, poor concentration.
Oral/written language disorders.
Degeneration (a sharp change in a person’s habitual behavior).

Diagnostic methods

If you notice at least a few symptoms of brain cancer, you should consult a doctor. The specialist will refer you for tests and examinations that will help determine the presence or absence of oncology. The following research methods are used to detect tumors:

CT (computed tomography). This procedure allows you to obtain a series of clear photographs of a given area of the body, taken from different angles. The images are obtained using a computer connected to an X-ray machine. Some patients have a special dye injected into their blood to improve visibility. internal organs and fabrics.
MRI. During the procedure, the doctor receives several clear images of the spinal cord and brain using radio waves, magnetic field and computer. Before an MRI, the patient is injected with gadolinium, a substance that, after entering the body, surrounds cancer cells, making them easier to detect.
Biopsy. This is an opening of the skull and removal of organ tissue using a needle. The pathologist later examines the resulting sample under a microscope. If cancer cells are found, surgery is performed to remove the tumor.

Prognosis and consequences of the disease

There is a chance to completely cure cancer, but the likelihood of success depends on timely diagnosis and initiation of treatment. Comprehensive therapy started at an early stage ensures a five-year survival rate of 60-80% of patients. Delayed access to a doctor and the inability to perform surgery worsens the survival rate, reducing it to 30-40%. For glioma, this value does not exceed 14-15%. However, despite the statistics, the life expectancy of each patient is individual and depends on many factors.

In people with cancer The following abilities and skills may be partially or completely lost:

speech;
thinking;
memory;
face recognition;
letter;
reading.

Some types cancer pathologies can lead to paralysis of the body/limbs, convulsions, and the development of epilepsy. Sometimes a person develops emotional disorders: he becomes apathetic or, conversely, agitated and aggressive. When malignant tumors occur in sensitive areas organ, hearing, vision, and the ability to touch are lost.