Malignant Brainstem Tumor Signs

There are three common types of malignant brainstem tumors: astrocytoma, glioblastoma multiforme and metastatic.

Causes

• Astrocytoma and glioblastoma tumors can be hereditary. Other causes might be viruses, injury to the head, a glitch in the body's immune system,or radiation. Metastatic tumors originate in another part of the body and spread to the brain.

Signs of Astrocytoma or Gliomas

• A child is more likely than an adult to have an astrocytoma or glioblastoma on the brainstem. As the brain tumor grows, it pushes on the nearby centers of the brain and can affect the body in different ways. The patient may complain of having morning headaches that slack off as the day goes on. His stomach may hurt, and he may not be able to keep anything down. He may experience seizures. He may become clumsy or feel as if he has no strength, even to the point of feeling numb. The patient also will want to sleep much more. His eyesight may change, and he might experience trouble with talking or memory.

Glioblastoma Multiforme

• The prognosis of a patient with a glioblastoma multiforme tumor is grim. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center says that "Only about one out of every four patients with this type of tumor survives two years." This is actually a higher stage tumor of the astrocytoma type. Symptoms are basically the same as for astrocytoma, except that this type of tumor is usually found in adults who are over the age of 50.

Metastatic Tumors

• Depending on the location of the original site of cancer, these tumors are lumped in as that same form of cancer. Symptoms would be the same as those of other brainstem tumors, except that this is just another set of symptoms to deal with.

Treatment

• Surgery may be possible, but it is more difficult with tumors on the brainstem. Radiation or chemo also are also possibilities. If surgery is done, chemo would most likely follow.