As the name implies, a brain tumor is a cluster of malignant cells that form within the brain. The brain’s structure is complex, with multiple sections governing various nervous system processes. Tumors of the brain can develop in different anatomical niches, including the brain’s protective layer, the brain’s base (skull), the brainstem, the sinuses, and the nasal cavity. Depending on where the tumor began in the brain, over 120 distinct tumor forms may emerge.

Various factors, including the type of tumor, size, location, overall health, personal treatment preferences, and the severity of your brain tumor symptoms, determine the optimal course of action for treating a brain tumor.

• Brain tumors can alter personality and cognition depending on their location.
• Benign tumors like meningiomas can still cause severe symptoms due to their location.
• Glioblastomas are highly aggressive and resistant to many treatments.
• Intraoperative MRI helps surgeons remove tumors more precisely during surgery.
• Certain brain tumors, like medulloblastomas, are more common in children.
• Oncolytic virus therapy is an experimental treatment targeting brain tumors.
• Genetic syndromes, such as neurofibromatosis, can increase brain tumor risk.
• Personalized medicine is tailoring treatments based on tumor genetics.

A brain tumor can be treated in a variety of methods. Therapy decisions should be made only after you have gathered as much information as possible about brain tumor diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options. This could take a long time, depending on the nature of the brain tumor.

Brain tumor treatment can differ significantly depending on the type of tumor. After carefully examining your age, overall health, and the type, size, and location of your brain tumor, your healthcare team will recommend a course of action. The most common of these are:

In most cases, brain tumors can be surgically removed. At the same time, all patients with brain tumors do not require surgery. Specialists can choose to “watch and wait” for patients whose tumors are in less threatening areas of the brain, or they can monitor the tumors for signs of growth or other changes.

Depending on size and location, various surgical procedures may remove a brain tumor. When surgical intervention is required, patients typically undergo one of two procedures: a brain tumor biopsy to determine the type of tumor or resection to remove as much of the mass as possible. A craniotomy is a procedure in which a surgeon makes a temporary incision in the skull to allow access to the brain.

A process in which a sample of tissue from a brain tumor is extracted for microscopic examination.

Neuroplastic surgery can preserve and repair the look and anatomy of the skull after invasive operations.

You may stay awake during the brain tumor surgery, depending on where the tumor is located. You may be guaranteed to be treated with the highest care and compassion in such a situation. Surgeons may examine functions such as voice and movement to avoid collateral harm during surgery while extracting the maximum amount of malignancy.

Patients are kept sedated and comfortable, yet conscious, throughout brain tumor surgery so that surgeons can monitor normal brain function.

Surgeons use neuroendoscopy to gain access to the brain via the nasal cavity, for example, to avoid or decrease scarring in otherwise inaccessible places.

In this type of surgery, intraoperative imaging and computational power allow radiologists and neurosurgeons to zero in on a tumor and eliminate it one cell at a time, either with a laser or by heating it to a fatal temperature.

A process in which a sample of tissue from a brain tumor is extracted for microscopic examination.

Radiation is positioned into the tumor or nearby during this technique. This is accomplished during the surgery. The implants’ radiation is very well localized. This lessens the risk of damaging healthy tissue that is not being targeted.

Patients with brain tumors are typically treated with external beam radiation therapy, which can be directed at the tumor, surrounding brain tissue, or the entire brain. Following are the types of external beam radiation therapy.

MRT is a tailored CT-based treatment technique similar to 3D-Conformal Radiotherapy, but employs more advanced treatment planning and delivery systems. Increased beam number, angle, and form flexibility can improve radiotherapy accuracy. This approach, when compared to standard radiation, does a better job of adapting to the tumor’s anatomical features while limiting damage to healthy tissue.

VMAT treatments are a type of IMRT. However, they are more sophisticated. Radiation therapy entails the radiation delivery unit’s arm making one or more arcs around the patient while the radiation beam’s shape is modified to fit the tumor. This increases treatment speed and opens up more beam angles.

Radiation beams are restricted and concentrated in stereotactic radiosurgery to protect healthy tissue. Inaccessible areas of the brain are a popular target. This is the application of high doses of radiation to a specific area of the brain to remove a tumor or tumor, usually over a series of one to five sessions. 

Because of the accuracy of this procedure, normal brain tissue may be spared to a more significant extent than ever before while the tumors are adequately treated. If more than one treatment is to be given, the head must be immobilized so that it does not move during

3D-CRT is the administration of a patient-specific radiation approach developed using 3D imaging. A preoperative CT scan is performed to aid in planning. The radiation oncologist next draws a diagram of the affected area, including the tumor(s) and any healthy organs nearby. 

Following that, radiation beams are adjusted to the tumor, protecting healthy tissue as much as possible while eliminating the visible disease. Patients wear custom-made plastic masks during brain treatments to keep them calm and ensure that each treatment is performed similarly.

Proton therapy uses the particle itself to deliver radiation. Tumors may react effectively to proton therapy in some situations. This approach exposes the surrounding healthy tissue to less radiation than others.

In chemotherapy, drugs are intended to kill cancer cells. Typically, brain tumors are treated with a combination of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation therapy. Scientists have devised novel methods for delivering chemotherapeutic medications to the brain, such as the implantation of wafers like Gliadel. These wafers line the surgical site and trap any stray cancer cells after removing the tumor.

To limit the spread of a tumor, doctors may prescribe targeted medication therapies that address specific properties of malignant cells. In contrast to chemotherapy, targeted treatments do not destroy healthy tissue and have fewer and milder side effects. For the treatment of metastatic brain tumors, drugs in this family are usually used in conjunction with other therapies, such as surgery or radiation.

Non-invasive electrical pulses from tumor-treating fields prevent brain tumor cell multiplication. As a result, their population and spread rate have slowed. The device is portable and appears like a swim hat linked to a backpack. The gadget has specific local adverse effects, such as scalp irritation, and requires regular head shaving.

A tumor must be undetected by the body’s usual diagnostic techniques to be in remission. A remission period might be brief or prolonged. A primary brain tumor is likely to recur, even if imaging shows that tumor development is under control or there are no obvious tumor indications. Patients are routinely treated with MRI scans as a preventative measure against recurrence. Because of this uncertainty, many people are concerned that the tumor may recur.

If the tumor returns after the initial treatment, it is referred to as a recurring tumor. A brain tumor recurrence usually develops around the initial site of genesis. A multifocal recurrence is a rare event in which the illness returns in many locations.

If this happens, the testing procedure will be restarted to gather as much information as possible about the recurrence. Feelings of perplexity and concern typically accompany the recurrence of a brain tumor.