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Cancer BCG Treatment and Personality Change

Cancers can affect our body in many different ways. Though there are primary tumors that affect the brain, such as sarcoma, melanoma and other types of brain cancers, brain metastases may also occur due to treatment of cancers, especially breast cancer. Brain metastases can cause alteration in the personality and other cognitive and behavioral changes.

  1. BCG Treatment

    • BCG or Bacillus Calmette-Guerin is essentially a vaccine for tuberculosis. This vaccine is synthesized from a strain of bovine tuberculosis bacteria. However, the BCG is not only limited to treatment of tuberculosis. It has recently been used in the treatment of bladder cancer as well. For the treatment of cancer, BCG is introduced into the bladder by inserting a urinary catheter into the bladder and releasing the vaccine into it.

    BCG Treatment Side Effects

    • BCG is ordinarily administered through a urinary catheter. Since the catheter is inserted into the bladder, the patient may experience pain while passing urine as well as a mild form of bladder infection and pain in the joints. In severe cases, the patient may experience brain metastases and a complete transformation of personality during the treatment period. In most cases, this side effect is temporary; however, it may be permanent also.

    Changes in Cerebral Blood Flow due to BCG

    • When the BCG vaccines are inserted into the body, a focal increase in the blood flow to the motor cortex occurs, also causing a temporary increase in the flow through the grey matter. A case to case variation in this change of blood flow may occur, and the focal cerebral activity changes, changing the patient's personality and behavior. The metabolic demands of the body also increase due to the increase in blood flow. When these demands are not fulfilled, the brain can be severely affected.

    Treatment of Brain Metastases

    • The origin of the cancer is essential in determining the scope and direction of treatment. If the sudden upsurge of blood has caused lesions in the brain, the extent of lesions is also important in determining the treatment. Higher doses of the vaccine require more extensive treatment. Some common treatment procedures for this kind of personality alteration include cranial irradiation using radiotherapy, steroid-based medication and surgical resection of a solitary lesion on the brain.

    Considerations

    • In 1976, the British Medical Journal stated that when children were treated with BCG vaccination, there had a higher likelihood of suffering from personality changes and brain metastases. The change in blood flow and the transference of the tumors through the flow of blood, though possible, does not occur in all patients who receive the BCG treatment. Statistically, only a small percentage of patients suffer from these side effects of the treatment.

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