Symptoms of Glioma Brain Tumor Progression

A glioma is a type of primary brain tumor. Unlike secondary brain tumors, which break off from a tumor from a cancer in another part of the body and travel up the bloodstream, primary brain tumors originate in the brain or spinal-cord tissue as a growth of abnormal cells. The types of cells that are involved in glioma brain tumors are glial cells, which are more numerous than neurons in the brain.

Glial Cells

• Glial cells are cells that are in the brain. Glial cells are five to 10 times more abundant than neurons in the brain, and their functions range from myelinating the axon in order to increase the speed and strength of electrical signals to being a part of the blood brain barrier surrounding the brain. Three types of glial cells---astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and ependymal cells---can lead to the formation of a glioma if the cells become cancerous. Unlike other types of cells in the brain, glial cells have the ability to multiply and divide.

Types of Progression

• The rate that the glioma can progress depends on the type of cancer it is: low-grade or high-grade. If it's a low-grade cancer, it will be growing slowly and symptoms will appear over a period of time. However, if the cancer is a high-grade cancer, then the tumor will be growing quickly, and symptoms will appear more rapidly.

Symptoms

• There are a variety of symptoms for glioma brain tumors, depending if the specific glioma affects astrocytes, oligodendrocytes or ependymal cells. Symptoms include seizures, frequent headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and an altered mental state. Another symptom is ataxia, which is where you have difficulty with your balance. Symptoms can appear quickly after onset; however, it is possible that the tumor will be asymptomatic until the tumor has reached a large size.

Diagnosis

• Doctors will first go through a neurological exam, where they will check your vision, hearing, balance, coordination and reflexes. A scan of the brain will follow, either an MRI or CT scan, to see where the tumor is located. To determine whether the tumor is malignant or benign, the doctor will perform a biopsy on a sample of the tumor.

Treatment

• Your treatment options will depend on what you and your doctor decide on. One factor that will determine what treatment will work best for you is where in the brain the tumor is located and whether surgery can be done safely. Other treatment options include radiation therapy, external beam radiation, fractionalized stereotactic radiotherapy, chemotherapy and molecular targeted therapy.