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Brain Tumor

A brain tumor is a collection of irregular cells in the brain. There are two types of brain tumors: cancerous and noncancerous. These can be broken down into two further categories. Primary brain tumors are those that originate in the brain, while secondary brain tumors form elsewhere and migrate to the brain. More and more people are being diagnosed with brain tumors each year, and this has been an ongoing trend for decades. However, researchers have been unable to determine what is causing this.

Causes

Primary brain tumors begin in or near the brain in the meninges (membranes surrounding the brain), cranial nerves, pituitary gland, or pineal gland. When the DNA found in normal cells mutates, a primary brain tumor starts to develop. These errors in the DNA enable cells to expand and separate faster than normal and still live when healthy cells could not. These abnormal cells begin to congregate and form a tumor.

Primary brain tumors occur less frequently than secondary brain tumors, but there are a number of different kinds. The names are based on the cells involved, and they include:

  • Acoustic neuroma
  • Astrocytoma
  • Ependymoma
  • Ependymoblastoma
  • Medulloblastoma
  • Meningioma
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Oligodendroglioma
  • Pineoblastoma

Secondary brain tumors are caused by cancer that begins in some other part of the body and moves to the brain. Some people may have already been diagnosed with cancer prior to identification of a brain tumor. Other times, a brain tumor is the initial sign of cancer that spawned in another area of the body. Secondary brain tumors are seen far more often than primary brain tumors. Any form of cancer is capable of spreading to the brain, but the ones that are typically documented are:

  • Breast cancer
  • Colon cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Melanoma
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Sarcoma

Symptoms

The severity of the symptoms associated with a brain tumor is dependent upon the tumor's size, position, and growth rate. Possible symptoms include:

  • New pattern of headaches.
  • Headaches that occur more often and with greater intensity.
  • Inexplicable nausea or vomiting.
  • Eyesight problems (e.g., blurriness, double vision, poor peripheral vision).
  • Steady loss of feeling or mobility in an arm or leg.
  • Problems balancing.
  • Verbal difficulties.
  • General confusion.
  • Personality or behavioral differences.
  • Seizures.
  • Hearing problems.
  • Hormonal abnormalities.