In honor of World Brain Tumor Awareness Day, the third post in our #brainhealth series is all about brain tumors! According to the Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium (BTEC), approximately 20,500 individuals in the US were diagnosed with primary malignant brain tumors in 2007. Let's learn more about the different types of brain tumors and their proposed causes.
What are brain tumors?
A brain tumor is a growth of abnormal cells in the brain, resulting in a deleterious mass. Brain tumors can be malignant (cancerous) or they can be benign (noncancerous). Regardless of cell type, brain tumors can have extremely detrimental effects on the brain and may result in death.
There are additional classifications for brain tumors:
Primary brain tumor: originates in the brain, frequently benign; can develop from brain cells, membranes surrounding the brain, nerve cells, and glands
Secondary brain tumor: originates outside of the brain through metastatic spread of cancer cells (cancerous cells spread from other organs); make up the majority of brain cancers and are always malignant
Types of Brain Tumors
There are a variety of brain tumors that fall under the classifications primary and secondary brain tumors.
Primary brain tumors
Glioma: tumor that begins in the brain's support cells, glial cells, and can occur in either the brain or spinal cord
Can develop from 3 types of glial cells (gliomas are classified based on the type of glial cell they are derived from)
The types of gliomas are astrocytomas, ependymomas, oligodendrogliomas
The clinical effects of a glioma depend on the location and rate of growth
Common symptoms of gliomas are headache, nausea and vomiting, confusion, decline in brain function, memory loss, personality changes, vision problems, seizures, and more
The precise cause of gliomas is unknown but specific risk factors seem to be involved such as increased age, exposure to radiation, and a family history of glioma
Pituitary tumor: abnormal growths originating in the pituitary gland
Pituitary tumors can result in excess hormone production or in a deficiency of hormone production
Most pituitary tumors are benign growths and therefore do not spread to other parts of the body
Pituitary tumors may not necessarily produce visible symptoms, but they may include headache, vision loss, nipple discharge, enlargement of the hands or feet, and more
Because the pituitary gland controls a variety of hormones, the signs and symptoms of a pituitary tumor are diverse
Other primary brain tumors include, but are not limited to, the following:
Pineal gland tumor
Ependymoma
Craniopharyngioma
Primary central nervous system lymphoma
Meningioma
Schwannomas
Secondary brain tumors
Secondary brain tumors are always malignant.
The following cancers can metastasize to the brain:
Lung cancer
Breast cancer
Kidney cancer
Skin cancer
For more information on risk factors, you can visit the Mayo Clinic website.
Thank you for learning about brain tumors with Brainstorm! We're committed to teaching #brainhealth in the community! Which neurological disorder would you like to learn about next? Comment below!
This post is dedicated to Denine Elizabeth Tahbaz 💛 #Deninestrong
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