Symptoms of brain cancer. Detailed description of the disease. How to detect brain cancer at an early stage? Diagnostics. Procedure

Brain cancer occurs in one in a hundred cases of tumor formation. The danger lies in the often meager neurological symptoms, which at an early stage are mistaken for banal fatigue. As cancer cells develop, the clinic grows, but it is too late for effective treatment. Therefore, it is important to seek qualified medical care upon detection of one sign or a combination of several that persist for more than two weeks. The sooner you can recognize the symptoms and signs of brain cancer, the higher the likelihood of a full recovery. A favorable result is shown by treatment when the size of the tumor is less than 2 cm.

The first symptoms of brain cancer

There is no single clinical picture for brain damage cancer cells. Symptoms vary depending on the size of the tumor, location. Allocate cerebral, focal signs. The first group includes headache, vomiting, dizziness. This clinic is typical for oncological diseases due to increased intracranial pressure (hypertension).

Early signs of brain cancer include severe pain, which is sharp, "overflowing", growing in nature, occurs at night or in the morning. It is not relieved by analgesics, it goes away on its own in a few hours. Symptoms worsen during coughing, defecation, and other physical activity on the abdominal muscles, with a change in body position.

Advice. If a severe headache persists for more than two weeks, does not stop with painkillers, you should immediately consult a doctor!

In the early stages of tumor development, vomiting often occurs. It is not associated with dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, food intake, so there is no feeling of nausea. Vomiting is gushing, reflex in nature, sometimes occurs on an empty stomach. Dizziness is one of the symptoms of brain cancer early stage, characterized by impaired functioning of the vestibular apparatus or pituitary gland. The patient is sure that he is moving, turning, remaining in place. Dizziness occurs regardless of the position of the body, lasts a long time.

Common focal symptoms of brain cancer in the early stages include:

muscle weakness of the joints, limbs;
a sharp, causeless drop in vision by several diopters;
the appearance of "flies", spots before the eyes;
unilateral deafness, ringing in the ear;
increased sleepiness, fast fatiguability;
partial epileptic convulsions.

A first-degree cancer is often manifested by the following neurological symptoms:

inappropriate behavior (capriciousness of children, unreasonable fits of rage in adults);
visual, auditory hallucinations;
sudden mood swings (violent aggression is abruptly replaced by fun, euphoria);
forgetfulness, impaired consciousness (from mild stupor to coma);
indifference, apathy.

Focal signs of a brain tumor in adults

The affected area of the brain forms focal symptoms that become more active as cancer cells develop. A tumor of the frontal lobe is characterized by epileptic convulsions, often mental disorders (unmotivated actions, inadequate humor). In this case, symptoms are observed:

paresis of the facial muscles;
atrophy of the optic nerve;
smell disorder.

The patient smells an odor of unknown origin or aromas that are unusual for a particular subject. Sometimes speech is lost. Signs of brain cancer in adults of the temporal lobe are olfactory, gustatory disorders. The patient feels auditory hallucinations under the guise of an endless monotonous knock, ringing. Symptoms include epileptic convulsions, impaired articulation (sensory aphasia). The latter implies that the patient hears sounds, but is deprived of the ability to analyze the speech of people around him, perceives his native language as a foreign one.

Extremely rare occipital lobe cancers. They affect the optic nerve, depending on the degree of development, cause symptoms:

hallucinations ( bright flashes, solar plateau);
color perception disorders;
loss of visual fields (a section of the visible space narrows);
flickering flashes, sparks before the eyes;
sometimes complete blindness (at the third, fourth stage).

Cancer of the parietal lobe characterized by damage to the limbs. Unsteadiness of gait, instability in Romberg's position, violation of pain, tactile sensitivity of the side opposite to the site of tumor localization are observed. A quarter of neoplasms are meningiomas. Such brain cancer is often found in women, characterized by symptoms:

unilateral muscle weakness;
memory and mental disorders;
doubling of the image;
decrease in visual acuity.

Cerebellar cancer in adults, it manifests itself as a violation of coordination, movements become fuzzy, sweeping. Muscular hypotension and pendulum syndrome are often noted, when the eyes run from side to side.

Tumors cranial nerves more common in women. hallmark neuronyms is an early stage hearing loss that can be the only symptom. Sometimes paralysis of half of the face develops on the side of the location of the cancerous tumor, aching Blunt pain. Often in women there is diplopia, hypodynamia of the masticatory muscles. If cancer is detected at an early stage, the probability of a five-year survival depends on how old the patient is, the location and size, type of tumor, and its spread to other organs.

Stage 4 brain tumor

In the treatment of brain cancer, it is important to recognize it in time and start acting as early as possible. It often happens that the symptoms do not appear for a long time. For example, such a common symptom of cancer in the form of a headache in the first and second stages appears only in half of the cases.

It is impossible to say exactly how many people live with stage 4 brain cancer. Even with a clear clinic, results computed tomography, MRI, histology and other data, doctors may make a mistake in predicting the patient's life expectancy.

In total, there are five stages of brain cancer, but the fourth is already considered final. At the same time, there is no hope for a complete recovery, only in one out of five cases can the patient's life be extended. Cancer of the last degree means death. Patients over 65 may live another 2-3 years. The chances are higher in people aged 20-45 who have more potential to fight cancer. How much time is allotted to the patient depends on him.

Advice. Do not underestimate the role of mental attitude. Cancer puts moral pressure on the patient, which inhibits the body's ability to fight the disease. Support is essential for the patient.

Most dangerous view brain cancer - glioblastoma, forming stellate cells. Patients with this stage 4 tumor live for a maximum of a year. The reason is the progressive metastasis of cancer cells to healthy ones, which dramatically reduces the chances of removing the neoplasm without serious consequences. Glioblastoma is immediately classified as stage 4, such cancer is initially considered inoperable.

Brain cancer is a serious and dangerous disease that can lead to the death of the patient. The insidiousness of the tumor lies in the fact that at the initial stages of development, it may not manifest itself clinically and is detected only at stage 4, when its treatment is no longer possible. At the same time, signs of a brain tumor are easily confused with manifestations of other diseases (hypertensive crisis, osteochondrosis, etc.). But, even after cancer is diagnosed, treatment does not always end successfully, since any surgery on the cranium can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Classification of tumors

There are such types of tumors:

Benign. Such neoplasms have a favorable prognosis for the patient. As a rule, they do not increase in size and lend themselves well to removal. However, the risk of complications is still present. If its presence does not interfere with the patient, then doctors prefer not to remove the neoplasm, but simply observe the dynamics. Malignant transformation is extremely rare.
Malignant (carcinoma). Such neoplasms pose a danger to the life of the patient. Their cells are capable of continuous division. They can be separated and penetrate into other organs. Sometimes point tumors are diagnosed. Their feature is that the cells of such a formation do not increase in size due to the lack of free space, since they are limited by cranial bones or other structures. It is difficult to remove a malignant formation, since it does not have clear boundaries, so surgeons have to excise healthy tissues located in this area.

Neurosurgeon, candidate medical sciences Andrey Zuev will tell you more about brain tumors and their varieties:

Tumors are also divided into:

Primary - their development is associated with the division of mutated cells.
Secondary neoplasms are metastases from other organs.

Causes

Why a tumor appears in the brain is not exactly known, since the reasons for the degeneration of healthy cells have not yet been understood. It was noted that in women, oncological processes are more common than in men. Also, the risk of developing brain cancer increases with age. Although it can be diagnosed in a child. At the same time, in an adult, the tumor often occurs in meninges, but in children, there is mainly a tumor of the cerebellum or brain stem. Doctors were able to identify a number of factors that can cause such a process. These include:

Heredity. Cases are often identified when close relatives of a patient with symptoms of a brain tumor also had brain cancer in the past.
Influence on the human body of radioactive radiation. Often in people whose work is associated with radiation, malignant tumors are detected.
The effect on the body of toxic and chemical substances(mercury, lead, etc.).

Availability bad habits. nicotine, alcohol, narcotic substances capable of causing mutation processes in cells, which can lead to the development of malignant formation.
Certain diseases (HIV, etc.), weakening immune protection body, radiation or chemotherapy. There is an opinion that the degeneration of a tumor into a malignant formation can be affected by long-term use antibacterial drugs.

Stages of the oncological process

There are 4 stages of cancer, each with specific symptoms. They can develop very quickly or progress over a long period of time. There are cases when a brain tumor can be detected only at the last stage of its development. There are such stages:

First. On the early dates in the brain, the number of damaged cells is minimal. Such education is growing slowly. If cancer is detected at this stage, the tumor can be removed. surgically. In this case, the prognosis is usually positive.
Second. On the this stage the formation gradually grows, affecting other tissues. The operation carried out at this stage will have a favorable outcome. The first signs of brain cancer in each patient will be individual, but headaches are always present, accompanied by dizziness, nausea and vomiting.

Dear readers, we recommend that you watch a video with Elena Malysheva, which tells about the latest and most severe stage of a brain tumor - glioblastoma, as part of a visit to the Institute of Neurosurgery named after Academician Nikolai Nikolayevich Burdenko:

Third. The tumor begins to grow actively and affects all new tissues. Treatment at this stage should be complex (radiosurgery, radiation and chemotherapy).
The fourth stage is the most dangerous. Now almost the entire brain is affected. Basically, everything ends lethally, and the patient fades into a short time. To alleviate his condition, last days life, patients are injected with potent narcotic drugs.

The doctors' comments show that in some cases the operation still gave positive results. If the formation is localized in the temporal part, then the growth of its cells can be stopped by drug treatment or chemotherapy.

Signs of illness

Typically, the symptoms of a brain tumor in the early stages are mild, so patients write it off as physical overwork or mild malaise. It is important to pay attention to such symptoms of brain cancer:

Headache. This symptom accompanies a cancerous tumor at all stages of its development and differs only in its intensity. Usually, pain occurs in the morning immediately after waking up. Along with this, there may be a blurred consciousness, nausea. There may be a violation of coordination of movement or orientation in space. Such signs can accompany a number of other pathologies. The constant nature of pain should be alert.
Dizziness. At the same time, the head can be spinning regardless of what the person is doing and in what position he is.
Significant weight loss. On average, in just 1 year, people with cancer lose about 10-20 kg. It is a sharp change in body weight that can help the doctor suspect the development of a tumor in the brain, regardless of whether other symptoms of the pathology are present or not.

Increase in body temperature. When a neoplasm occurs in the body, the work is switched on the immune system who is trying to get rid of them. In this case, the patient's body temperature may rise.
General malaise. This is due to the fact that tumors release toxins that enter the bloodstream and cause such a symptom.
Nausea and vomiting are inextricably linked with the developing tumor. At first, you may feel sick in the morning. But with the development of education, nausea and vomiting can accompany the patient constantly.

Based on which area of the brain (in the occipital part, frontal lobe, etc.) the formation develops, focal symptoms may be present:

Change in the sensitivity of the limbs or other parts of the body, impaired mobility.
Loss of control over work Bladder(difficult or spontaneous urination).
Personality changes. The patient becomes too irritable or, on the contrary, indifferent, lethargic, frivolous, impulsive, etc.

When the neoplasm progresses, the patient develops the following signs of a brain tumor, depending on its location:

Visual impairment (complete or partial loss). This symptom associated with pressure formation on the optic nerve. If treatment is not started on time, then there is a risk of its complete death.
At mechanical pressure tumors on auditory nerve hearing is impaired.
epileptic seizures.

With adenomatous neoplasms on those tissues that produce hormones, the patient begins to experience hormonal disorders in the body. Symptoms of this process can be varied.
With damage to the brain stem, a person may have a distortion of smell, taste perception, a violation respiratory function. Even a minor tumor can lead to displacement of individual brain structures. Only surgery can help in this case.
When a neoplasm occurs in the temporal part of the brain, the patient has hallucinations (auditory or visual). A tumor of the occipital part is manifested by a violation of the patient's perception of color.

Symptoms of a brain tumor in children:

Constantly bothering the child's headache. In infants, it can be manifested by increased irritability.
Seizures.
Vomiting that has nothing to do with the process of eating.
Visual impairment (decrease in visual acuity, edema of the optic disc, etc.).
An increase in the volume of the head due to.
Balance imbalance.
Mental disorders (irritability, etc.).
Violation of the endocrine system.
Diencephalic syndrome (delay in the development of an infant, a sharp weight loss of a teenager, etc.).

Diagnostics

If you experience any of the above symptoms of a brain tumor, you should immediately consult a doctor. A tumor in the head detected at the initial stage of development is treatable and has a favorable prognosis for recovery. During a visit to the doctor, a necessary examination will be prescribed:

Inspection. The doctor will determine the presence of vestibular disorders, tactile sensations and motor function.
Magnetic resonance imaging.

Neurologist M.M. Sperling talks about MRI and CT examination methods:

Magnetoencephalography.
Radiography.
Biopsy.
Positron emission tomography.

Signs of a tumor on a blood test can be detected only in the last stages of the disease. Therefore, it cannot be considered informative.

Treatment

Treatment of tumors always has an individual approach and depends on the person's age, symptoms, place of its occurrence, stage, etc. Most effective method treatment of a tumor, it is considered complete removal. But, it is located in a hard-to-reach place, therefore, the operation can not be performed for everyone. An inoperable tumor is treated with radiation or radiotherapy.

At stages 3-4, operations are done infrequently, as this may not always give desired result and is associated with high risks for humans.

Chemotherapy

Due to the fact that such treatment affects the entire body, it cannot be considered the main one. During chemotherapy, the human body is injected in cycles special preparations. After 3-4 cycles, the effectiveness of such therapy is evaluated. Danger given treatment is the negative effect of drugs on digestive tract and hematopoietic organs.

Operation

Surgery is considered effective when diagnosed benign education or the malignant process has just begun to develop. Such an operation requires a highly qualified surgeon, since one wrong move can cost a person life.

The operation in the first two stages allows you to completely eliminate all symptoms. Therefore, the diagnosis of cancer during this period allows a person to get a favorable prognosis for recovery.

To minimize injury to surrounding tissues, stereostatic radiosurgery is used. To destroy the neoplasm, X-rays or gamma rays are used in high concentrations. In this case, healthy tissues remain intact. However, this operation is not suitable for all types of tumors.

Before the operation, the patient is prescribed medication and conservative treatment:

The use of steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ("Dexamethasone"), which make it possible to eliminate swelling of the tumor tissue and reduce mechanical impact to healthy tissues.
Anticonvulsants reduce the likelihood of seizures and reduce the intensity of symptoms characteristic of the second and subsequent stages of the process.

To reduce intracranial hypertension shunting is used.

This method of treatment is used in cases where an inoperable tumor is diagnosed or to prevent the recurrence of its appearance after surgical intervention. On the later dates, this method is the main one.

photo of radiation therapy

The radiation dose is selected individually for each patient. To minimize damage to surrounding tissues, radiation exposure is local. It is important to take into account all parameters of the tumor. There are 2 methods of radiation therapy:

External - carried out in a course, when for several weeks, the patient is irradiated daily high doses radiation.
Brachytherapy is the injection of a radioactive substance directly into the tumor. After that, the neoplasm is destroyed from the inside. Healthy tissue remains intact.

Forecast

How many live with such a diagnosis? If a person immediately paid attention to the symptoms of a neoplasm and asked for help at the initial stage of its development, then the disease can be overcome completely.

If the carcinoma was detected at stage 1, then the patient, with proper treatment, can live longer than 5 years. The prognosis for those diagnosed with stage 2 disease is 2-3 years.

On the symptoms and methods of treatment of brain tumors in the Institute of Neurosurgery named after. N. N. Burdenko watch our next video:

Starting from stage 3, the tumor develops very rapidly, and the operation is performed only in rare cases, so a person rarely manages to live longer than 2 years. At stage 4, the chances of survival are almost zero. Although there are cases when a patient, not knowing about his diagnosis and following a certain therapy, lived for several more years.

brain tumor is very dangerous pathology, which often leads to lethal outcome. To avoid this, it is important for a person to monitor his condition and, if any symptoms of neoplasm development appear, immediately seek medical help.

Brain cancer is a malignant neoplasm located inside cranium and arising from uncontrolled division nerve cells and intracranial structures - lymphatic tissue, blood vessels, nerves and membranes of the brain, or formed by metastasis (spread) of the tumor from other parts of the body. Brain tumors occur in approximately 2-19 people per year per 100,000 population, while they occur with the same frequency in men and women. Mortality from oncological formations of the brain is quite high due to the erased symptoms in the early stages of the disease and late visits to the doctor - that is why it is important to know the first signs of the disease in order to start treatment as soon as possible if they are detected.

malignant neoplasm brain

The symptoms and first signs of brain cancer largely depend on the location of the tumor and the stage of its development. According to the degree of malignancy, there are several stages in the development of oncological formation:

Stage 1: the focus is located in upper layers brain tissue without spreading deep inside, the size of the formation is insignificant.
Stage 2: further malignancy of young cells occurs, the tumor increases in size and spreads deep into the tissues, the process spreads to nearby areas and regional lymph nodes.
Stage 3: the formation is of considerable size, compresses the surrounding tissues and has Negative influence on the functioning of many body systems.
Stage 4: characterized by an impressive amount of damage to the brain tissue, the presence of many metastases in organs and lymphatic system, as well as the growth of daughter formations in other parts of the body.

Stage 1 and 2 brain cancer

At the initial stages of tumor growth, brain cancer has practically no symptoms, since the lesion is small and does not have any effect on the surrounding tissues.

As the formation grows, the first symptoms of the disease appear, which should alert any person:

Headaches of low intensity, arising in different parts of the skull. A painful attack can occur after a sharp turn of the head, sneezing and coughing; characterized by morning pain immediately after getting up in vertical position and are not relieved by taking painkillers.

Headaches are one of the common symptoms of a brain tumor.

Attacks of dizziness that occur regardless of the position of the body and type of activity.
Nausea to the point of vomiting, independent of food intake. Episodes of "lightheadedness" begin suddenly at any time of the day.
Severe drowsiness in daytime and increasing fatigue.
Memory problems - periodically the patient forgets simple words, the names of objects, it is difficult for him to concentrate.
Visual disturbances– the first sign of brain cancer can be sharp deterioration vision. The patient may notice flashes of light in the eyes, vagueness and trembling of objects.
Changes in mood - often the mood of the patient can change in short time from elevated to depressed; characterized by outbursts of unjustified aggression.

The symptoms of brain cancer in the early stages of the disease are not specific and are similar to the symptoms of many other pathologies, so patients often do not pay attention to them, losing precious time. In the early stages, cancer responds well to treatment, so the likelihood of a successful outcome is much higher.

stage 3 brain cancer

Brain cancer at stage 3 is the penultimate stage in the development of oncological education. At this stage, the tumor grows very quickly, affecting more and more neighboring tissues and squeezing nearby structures more strongly, so the symptoms of the disease appear brighter. All signs of brain cancer are associated precisely with the squeezing of certain parts of the brain and an increase in intracranial pressure, which entails stretching of the walls of the ventricles of the brain.

At the third stage of brain cancer, other organs are also involved in the process due to the spread of metastases through the lymphatic and circulatory systems, so the manifestations of the disease become brighter, the number of symptoms increases - the disease becomes irreversible.

Metastases are secondary foci of growth of a malignant tumor.

All symptoms of brain cancer are usually divided into general cerebral and focal neurological, which depend on the localization of tissue compression by an overgrown tumor.

Focal signs of the disease:

Violation of sensitive function: the patient loses the ability to adequately perceive temperature, pain and tactile stimuli. Often, patients no longer correctly determine the position of the limbs in space when closed eyes.
Movement disorders: the first signs pathological process often there are episodes of paresis of the limbs, which are insignificant in strength and duration. As the formation grows, paresis can be replaced by partial or complete paralysis of the arms or legs.
Auditory disorders: in the event that the auditory nerve is involved in the process, the patient has a decrease in hearing up to complete deafness.
Visual pathologies with damage to the optic nerve: the patient has difficulty in recognizing printed text, cannot follow moving objects with his eyes, vision deteriorates up to complete blindness.

Visual disturbances are focal symptoms of a brain tumor

Speech disorders: the patient has difficulty in expressing his own thoughts, speech becomes slurred; over time, others cease to understand a person.
Vegetative disorders: rapid fatigue, severe weakness and drowsiness, dizziness.
Convulsive seizures in the form of partial or full-fledged prolonged seizures.
Disturbance of coordination of movements: the patient develops wobbly gait he loses his balance while walking.
Personality changes: often the first symptoms are changes in the behavior of the patient - he becomes absent-minded, irritable for no apparent reason.

General cerebral symptoms of brain cancer include intense headache, nausea and vomiting, and dizziness.

stage 4 brain cancer

Stage 4 is the last stage in the development of a brain tumor, the prognosis for later life is disappointing - at this stage, a cure is impossible, it remains only to eliminate the symptoms, alleviating the patient's condition. As a rule, the patient experiences severe headaches that are practically not amenable to the action of conventional painkillers, personality changes occur - a person may stop recognizing loved ones. Irreversible paralysis of the limbs, nausea and vomiting, speech impairment, loss of hearing and vision are characteristic. At this stage, all previously existing symptoms reach a maximum.

It is important for everyone to know the signs of such a serious illness as brain cancer, because early diagnosis diseases greatly increases the chances of a favorable outcome.

The first signs of a brain tumor are not always suspicious in patients. Often they are perceived as a manifestation of other diseases or as a result of severe physical overstrain. In fact, the symptoms can tell a lot, from the nature of the tumor to its location.

The location of the tumor plays important role. In addition to the fact that it determines the course of treatment, the nature of the symptoms that appear also depends on it.

The first symptoms of the pathological process can be both in visible muscle disorders and in the area of the patient's mental consciousness. This is directly affected by the area of the brain, which turned out to be susceptible to the tumor process.

frontal lobe

The frontal lobe is the largest area of the skull. For this reason, quite often the tumor is localized here. In this case, the patient feels the following symptoms:

Violation motor function and coordination. The patient may freeze for a few seconds, or, on the contrary, may repeat the same movements;
Weakening of mental activity. It becomes difficult to read, write, think logically;
Speech disorder. The patient may confuse words and sounds. It is difficult for him to express his thoughts;
Paresis in a mild degree;
Psychical deviations. Behavior can become literally inappropriate;
epileptic seizures. Seizures occur suddenly, and if the patient has not experienced them before, this can be especially alarming.

Symptoms of a brain tumor in men and women with damage to the frontal lobe may have different characters. If some patients become closed and calm, then others, on the contrary, express aggression.

Cerebellum

If the cancer process occurs in the cerebellum, then symptoms such as mental disorders, hormonal disorders or speech problems do not appear clearly. But poor coordination of movements is the main symptom of the disease. In some cases, it may be accompanied by some visual impairment.

Most often, a neoplasm of the brain in the cerebellum occurs in children than in adults.

temporal lobe

Because the temporal lobe close to the optic nerves, visual impairment becomes a characteristic sign of the disease. The patient does not always correctly perceive the review in front of him, some fields of visibility completely fall out of his field of vision.

epileptic seizures - feature disease

Epileptic seizures are also characteristic of a tumor localized in the temporal lobe, but their feature is that they are often accompanied by hallucinations. different nature. The patient may experience non-existent tastes, hear sounds, or see phenomena. Hallucinations occur not only during attacks, but also at any other time.

Occipital lobe

If the occipital lobe is affected, then intracranial pressure can rise quite quickly. And this means that cerebral symptoms will begin to appear: headaches, nausea, vomiting.

Patients may experience problems with visual function. In addition to the fact that parts of the image fall out of their field of vision, they can also experience various hallucinations.

Mental deviations are expressed in the fact that the patient may forget the purpose of objects, moreover, their names and appearance he can remember.

base of the brain

Nasal congestion and bleeding;
Persistent strabismus;
uncontrolled eye movement;
protrusion of the eyeballs;
Numbness and pain in the face.

Even symptoms that are not serious at first glance, such as tearing, can indicate the presence of an oncological process in the body.

Turkish saddle

The Turkish saddle is a depression in sphenoid bone. If the focus of the tumor is located here, then we can expect that the patient will have visual problems and hormonal disorders. The patient may dramatically increase body weight, there are signs of impotence. But brain cancer in women in this area can cause menstrual irregularities.

Subcortical lobes

They are also known as subcortical nodes. They contain the well-known gray matter. If cancer cells are localized in this area, then the disease proceeds with the manifestation of the following symptoms:

Impaired muscle tone. It can be both low and high;
Increased or, conversely, reduced sweating;
Pain when making movements;
Convulsive movements of the limbs of the muscles of the face.

A feature of this type of disease is a pronounced stoop in the patient.

4th ventricle

This ventricle contains cerebrospinal fluid. If it is affected by cancer cells, the patient may experience:

Frequent dizziness;
Nausea and vomiting;
Uncontrolled eye movements.

Nausea and vomiting are one of the first signs of a brain tumor.

Dangerous symptoms in this case, there may be a loss of consciousness.

brain stem

A brain tumor in adults and children equally affects the brainstem. Since many pass through it nerve fibers, the occurrence of cancer in this area causes muscle disorders. They can be expressed in the following phenomena:

Strabismus;
Twitching of the eyeballs;
muscle weakness;
Tremor of the limbs;
Facial asymmetry.

In addition, hearing loss and frequent dizziness may occur.

General symptoms

Symptoms of a general nature with a brain tumor occur in both adults and children. Their danger lies in the fact that they are similar to the signs of many other less dangerous diseases. For this reason, cancer is often diagnosed at the second, third, or even fourth stage.

To early symptoms General brain cancers include:

Vertigo. They can accompany the patient even in the supine position. The cause of their occurrence is often increased intracranial pressure;
Headache. Occur often and have a strongly pronounced character. Increased with any physical movement, such as sneezing;
Nausea and vomiting. In the last stages, bloody streaks may be observed in the vomit;
Change blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate;
Pallor skin and increased sweating.

Dizziness is one of the first signs of a brain tumor.

Among the more specific signs of brain cancer are:

Visual and hearing impairments. Dysfunction may not be pronounced. For example, the patient may see inclusions and specific spots in front of the eyes. On the part of hearing, this may be a decrease in its sensitivity or, conversely, an audible ringing in the ears;
Numbness of limbs. Initially, it may be a feeling of cottoniness in the arms and legs, but with the development of the disease, even their complete paralysis can be expected;
epileptic seizures. They can be observed in both adults and children.

Do not expect the disease to immediately manifest itself brightly severe symptoms. According to statistics, in half of the cases, the first two stages are absolutely painless.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of a brain tumor can be difficult if it is localized in a hard-to-reach place. For this purpose, several various procedures, the results of which can not only confirm the presence of cancer cells in a patient, but also determine their structure and location.

The delivery of a general blood test is one of the methods for diagnosing a brain tumor.

Among the diagnostic methods it is worth highlighting:

Examination by doctors: oncologist, neurosurgeon, neuropathologist;
Change general analyzes blood and urine;
Radiography. Able to display pathological spots or darkening in the images of the brain;
CT scan. Allows you to display an image different zones brain in order to identify the focus of the tumor;
Magnetic resonance imaging. More advanced and exact method, allowing to evaluate the structure of the tumor;
Immunography. It is carried out by examining the patient's blood for the presence of pathological indicators;
Biopsy. Depending on the location of the cancer cells this procedure is not always possible. This is the most reliable way to diagnose cancer, but if the risk of injury to healthy brain centers during its implementation is too great, it makes sense to stop at other methods.

To obtain more accurate results during a CT or MRI, a special dye is injected into the patient, which improves the visibility of the tumor focus.

Brain cancer is a pathological growth in the brain. A distinctive feature of it is the rapid germination in the surrounding tissues and their destruction. The reason for the development of the disease is the unlimited growth and development of malignant brain cells.

Compared to other cancers, brain cancer is the most rare form of cancer. In the total number of malignant tumors, its share is only 1.5%.

Clinical course of the disease

As for brain cancer, in relation to it, it is impossible to divide into benign and malignant tumors. Without exception, all neoplasms in the brain are malignant. Regardless of the rate of tumor growth in brain cancer, it can lead to the death of the patient at any time. Here, the decisive factor is primarily localization.

Symptoms of brain cancer

The location of the tumor in the brain and its size provoke the manifestation of a whole spectrum various symptoms(focal, cerebral and somatic), the intensity of which increases with the progression of the disease.

In some cases, for a sufficiently long time, the tumor can develop in a latent form. The increase in clinical manifestations in this case is of a periodic nature.

However, an acute manifestation of the disease, sometimes stroke-like, is possible. Signs of brain cancer in these cases may be similar to signs viral meningoencephalitis or any disease vascular system brain.

Focal symptoms of brain cancer:

Violation of sensitivity (inability or decrease in the ability to perceive external stimuli, impaired perception in the space of one's own body or its individual parts);
Memory impairment (up to its complete or partial loss);
Decreased muscle activity and impaired motor function (manifested as paresis or paralysis);
Epileptic seizures caused by the formation of a focus of congestive excitation in the cerebral cortex;
Hearing impairment and speech recognition;
Impaired vision and text/object recognition;
Complete or partial loss of speech (both oral and written);
Vegetative disorders (dizziness, fluctuations in pulse and pressure, general weakness);
Hormonal disorders;
Violation of coordination of movements;
Changes in character, impaired attention, absent-mindedness, loss of orientation in space, time, self;
Impairment of intellectual functions and emotional sphere, loss of personality traits;
Auditory and visual hallucinations.

General symptoms of brain cancer:

Intense headaches that are permanent and poorly relieved by analgesics that do not contain narcotic substances (this sign of brain cancer is one of the most frequent and early; pain intensity largely depends on the size and location of the tumor);
Vomiting, gushing, sudden, reflex character. It does not depend on food intake, may not be accompanied by preliminary nausea, usually appears at the peak of the headache (most often early in the morning or late in the evening / night), in some cases it is provoked by a change in body position;
Dizziness caused by the growth of the size of the tumor and, as a result, the deterioration of blood supply to the brain;
Symptom of congestive optic discs (one of the most valuable signs that manifest venous congestion and infringement of the optic nerve). This symptom may result in atrophy optic nerves secondary type.

The nature of the emerging mental disorders, which are signs of brain cancer, directly depends on the location of the tumor:

Lethargy, inertia, apathy; aggression, followed by a state of euphoria; memory loss and intellectual impairment; oddities in behavior, lack of neatness with feces and urine, lack of criticality (with the development of a tumor in the frontal lobes);
Taste, olfactory, auditory hallucinations (with the development of a tumor in the temporal lobe);
Visual hallucinations (if the tumor is located at the junction of the temporal and occipital lobes);
Paresthesia and the occurrence of pain in opposite limbs (with a tumor in the parietal lobe).

Types of brain cancer

There are two varieties cancerous tumors in the brain: primary and secondary tumors.

A cancerous tumor that develops directly from brain cells is of the primary type.

A neoplasm that has arisen as a result of the spread of metastases to the brain from other organs affected by cancer cells is a tumor of the secondary type.

Stages of brain cancer

Like most other cancers, brain cancer progresses through several stages. common method determining the stage of the disease is the TNM method. This system is based on the assessment of the tumor according to three main criteria and their contribution to the overall level of risk of cancer.

The value of the characteristic "T" in this system serves to assess the size and localization of the tumor. Its indicator varies from 1 to 4 (the higher it is, the more severe the stage of the disease).

The characteristic "N" allows you to assess how much the brain cancer has spread to the adjacent The lymph nodes. When conducting an analysis, pay attention to the number of affected lymph nodes and their size. The characteristic is described by a numerical value in the range from 0 to 2 (the higher it is, the more severe the disease).

Characteristic "M" allows you to assess the presence and number of distant metastases. The number "0" next to the letter M indicates the absence of metastases. Another number indicates their presence. The numerical index can be anything that allows you to clarify the affected system or organ and makes it possible to obtain more information about the danger of the disease.

To describe each specific stage of brain cancer, several codes are used, including T, N and M characteristics.

Treatment of brain cancer

Used to treat brain cancer complex therapy which may include:

Symptomatic therapy, which does not eliminate the cause of the disease, but reduces its manifestations, prolonging the life of the patient or improving its quality;
Surgery. This method of treatment is the most effective, however, it can be complicated by the localization of the tumor in the vital parts of the brain. The greatest effectiveness in brain surgery is provided by the use of laser and ultrasound techniques;
radiation therapy;
Chemotherapy.

However, despite the treatment of brain cancer, the life of a patient with this disease only in 25% of cases exceeds 2 years.

Most tumors can only be removed by surgery. We recommend that you carefully consider the site of the operation for a brain tumor.

The main feature of the course of brain cancer is the high probability of recurrence.