Late Term Effects of Partial Brain Radiation

Brain cancer is caused by tumors that metastasized from other parts of the body, such as the lung. There are four different categories of side effects from partial brain radiation therapy, such as late term, and other less common late effects.

Late Term Effects

• Late term side effects affect only a small percentage of the population, and can start from a few months to several years after the procedure. They are generally permanent in nature, or deteriorate over time.

Causes of Late Term Effects

• Late term effects occur because of the death of brain cells from the lack of blood supply to the brain. They're also caused from scarring and blockage of blood vessels.

Symptoms of Late Term Effects

• Symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe, depending on the level of radiation damage, such as difficulty thinking clearly or managing simple tasks, poor memory, changes in personality, confusion, and recurrence of previous symptoms suffered with a tumor.

Diagnosis Process For Late Side Effects

• A PET scan or PET-CT scan is required to confirm whether the symptoms are due to an active cancer cell tumor, or late side effects. Mild side effects are treated with steroids, or surgery to remove dead tissue.

Uncommon Late Side Effects

• Uncommon late side effects include recurrence of a malignant tumor, with resistance to treatment.

Secondary Late Term Effects

• If the treatment site is near the pituitary gland, which controls the thyroid gland, sugar and water balance, this could lead to thyroid problem or diabetes in the future.