Brain Cancer Treatment

The kind, location, and size of the tumor, as well as the patient's age and general health, all affect the course of treatment for brain tumors. Adults and children get treatment in different ways and on different timetables.

Chemotherapy, radiation treatment, and surgery are used to treat brain tumors. Additionally, the recurring central nervous system cancer known as glioma, which mostly affects the brain, is being researched by our medical professionals as a potential vaccination treatment. Steroids reduce edema or swelling and are often administered to patients before therapy starts. To stop or manage seizures, you could be prescribed an anticonvulsant drug.

A shunt may be required to drain cerebrospinal fluid if hydrocephalus is present. A shunt is a long, thin tube inserted into the brain's ventricle and then threaded through the skin to another area of the body, often the belly. It performs similar to a drainpipe. In the belly, extra fluid is absorbed after being removed from the brain. The fluid may sometimes be emptied into the heart.

Types of Brain Cancer Treatment

1. Surgery

Most brain tumors are treated with surgery. A neurosurgeon cuts a hole in the skull to remove a brain tumor. A craniotomy is the name of this procedure. The surgeon makes an effort to remove the whole tumor whenever feasible. Your doctor may remove as much of the tumor as feasible if total removal is not possible without causing damage to important brain tissue. The strain on the brain is lessened by partial removal, which also minimizes the number of tumors that must be treated with radiation or chemotherapy.

Some tumors are inoperable. In such circumstances, your doctor may do a biopsy. A pathologist must take a tiny portion of the tumor and analyze it under a microscope to identify the sort of cells present in the tumor. This aids your doctor in selecting the proper therapy. Occasionally, a biopsy is performed using a needle. The precise position of the tumor is determined via CT or MRI scans, together with a customized head frame (similar to a halo). In order to reach the tumor, the surgeon drills a tiny hole in the skull. Stereotaxis is the process of using this method to perform a biopsy or for medical treatment.

Other cutting-edge methods used in surgery include advanced frameless stereotaxic computer-aided tumor resections, endoscopy, which uses a tiny scope to do biopsies and access spinal fluid routes, and brain mapping to locate functional pathways close to tumors. To maximize tumor clearance, intraoperative MRI is also an option.

2. Radiotherapy

High-powered rays, commonly known as radiotherapy, are used in radiation treatment to harm cancer cells and inhibit their growth. It is often used to eliminate tumor tissue that cannot be surgically removed or to eliminate cancer cells that could endure surgery. Additionally, when surgery is not an option, radiation treatment is done. There are two techniques to administer radiation treatment. A big machine emits radiation outside. External radiation treatments are typically administered five days a week for a few weeks. The tumor's kind, size, and age determine the course of therapy. The healthy tissue around the tumor is protected by spreading out the total radiation exposure over a long time.

The brain as a whole or only the tumor itself may be exposed to external radiation. The spinal cord is sometimes exposed to radiation as well. The patient often gets an additional dosage of radiation to the tumor location when the whole brain is being treated. This boost may come from an implant or external radiation.

Radiation may also originate from implant radiation treatment or radioactive material injected directly into the tumor. The implant may remain in the brain indefinitely or for a limited period of time, depending on the material utilized. Every day, implants lose a small amount of radioactivity. During the radiation's peak activity, the patient spends several days in the hospital. Another method of treating brain tumors is using the Gamma Knife or stereotactic radiosurgery. The Gamma Knife is a radiation treatment procedure that accurately directs a single, highly concentrated radiation dosage to its target. Only one session is required for treatment. Multiple angles of high-energy radiation are directed toward the tumor. In this manner, the tumor receives a strong radiation dosage without harming surrounding brain tissue.

3. Chemotherapy

Drugs are used in chemotherapy to eradicate cancer cells. A single medicine or a combination of pharmaceuticals may be administered by the physician, who typically administers the medications orally or by injection into a muscle or blood vessel. Drugs are injected intrathecally into the cerebrospinal fluid during chemotherapy.

Typically, rounds of chemotherapy are administered. After a time of therapy, there is a period of recovery, then another period of treatment, and so on. Patients often don't need to remain in the hospital for their treatment, and most medications may be administered at a clinic or doctor's office. A brief hospital stay could be required, and it depends on the medications used, how they are administered, and the patient's overall condition.

The use of a novel method termed convection-enhanced delivery allows for the direct injection of chemotherapeutic drugs into the tumor cavity.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted treatment is an additional medicine physicians use to treat cancer in addition to conventional chemotherapy. A treatment known as targeted therapy specifically targets the tumor's unique genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that supports the development and survival of the tumor. This kind of therapy prevents the development and spread of tumor cells while minimizing harm to healthy cells.

Different tumors have different targets, and some tumors could even have several targets. Your doctor may order tests to determine your tumor's genes, proteins, and other components to choose the best course of therapy. Biomarker or molecular testing is what this is. This enables physicians to provide each patient with the most beneficial care when feasible. Additionally, novel medicines that target certain molecular targets are being discovered via research investigations. In brain tumors with additional distinct molecular alterations, such as IDH and FGFR fusions, a range of new targeted treatments are being investigated.

Alternating Electric Field Treatment (Fields Used to Cure Tumours)

This form of therapy employs a portable, noninvasive device that disrupts the cell structures required for tumor cells to proliferate and spread. It is delivered by positioning electrodes outside the subject's head that generates an electric field. The product is known as Optune.

For individuals who have just been diagnosed with glioblastoma or have had the disease relapse, alternating electrical field treatment may be possible. According to research, patients with recurrent glioblastoma who utilized the gadget outlived those who underwent chemotherapy. They also have less negative side effects. According to another study, patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma survived longer when this medication was combined with temozolomide following radiation therapy. They had a lower risk of their condition becoming worse. Today, glioblastoma patients are advised to seek this course of therapy.

Proton Therapy

One of the world's biggest and most sophisticated centers is the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Centre. It is located within a comprehensive cancer center.

With no harm to neighboring healthy tissue, proton treatment delivers strong radiation doses directly to the location of the brain tumor. Tumors in very sensitive locations, such as the base of the skull and along the spine, may be treated with it.

Laser Interstitial Thermal therapy

By inserting a laser catheter into the tumor and heating it to temperatures high enough to destroy the tumor, laser interstitial thermal treatment (LITT) is conducted. The procedure only needs a 2-millimeter incision on the scalp and is minimally invasive, taking just a few minutes to complete. The majority of patients may return to their homes the day following treatment and immediately resume their regular routines.

Patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors are currently treated with LITT. Still, it may also benefit those who do not react to stereotactic radiosurgery or have radiation necrosis (tissue death brought on by radiation therapy).

Radiosurgery

For brain tumors, stereotactic radiosurgery is a rigorous radiation therapy. It directs radiation beams onto the brain tumor from a variety of angles. There is little power in each beam. However, a very high dosage of radiation is delivered at the site where the beams collide, killing the tumor cells.

Brain tumors that are benign and cancerous may both be treated with radiosurgery. For brain tumors, stereotactic radiosurgery is a rigorous radiation therapy. It directs radiation beams onto the brain tumor from a variety of angles. There is little power in each beam. However, a very high dosage of radiation is delivered at the site where the beams collide, killing the tumor cells. Brain tumors that are benign and cancerous may both be treated with radiosurgery.