Glioblastoma of the brain: life expectancy and reviews of treatment methods

Reasons why glioblastoma of the brain occurs

Experts are not always able to determine the exact cause of malignant formation of brain tissue. Tumors are classified depending on the degree of malignancy.

Possible factors that may trigger the development of the process include the following:

• Genetic defects that were acquired during life or transmitted at the genetic level;
• Hereditary predisposition. Glioblastoma of the brain most often develops in patients whose immediate relatives also suffered from this disease;
• Negative environmental impacts;
• Gender (most often, glioblastoma of the brain is diagnosed in men).

Symptoms and diagnosis of the disease

The presence of a brain tumor can be suspected if there are some specific signs of damage to the central nervous system:

• Severe headache , which is associated with increased intracranial pressure. Patients are often interested in the question: why does glioblastoma get worse at night? The reason lies in prolonged lying in a supine position, during which the pressure inside the skull can increase greatly;
• Disorders of the musculoskeletal system;
• Increased drowsiness and dizziness;
• Deterioration of vision, memory, speech apparatus;
• Severe nausea and vomiting.

Often such a neoplasm does not make itself felt for a long time and is discovered during examination of a completely different problem.

In order for a specialist to accurately establish a diagnosis, the patient will have to undergo the following examinations:

• MRI and brain and CT scan with contrast;
• Biopsy. To do this, a piece of the tumor is removed for examination under a microscope;
• PET (positron emission tomography). Used to detect tumor recurrence .

Treatment of brain gioblastoma

Considering the fact that glioblastoma of the brain does not metastasize, treatment is aimed at radical removal of the primary lesion.

The following methods are used for this:

• Surgical intervention. Typically, tumor removal occurs with a small amount of tissue that has not yet been affected, which eliminates possible further tumor growth;
• Chemotherapy . Used after surgical removal of a tumor. It is a preventive action against possible relapse;
• Radiation therapy . Used as an additional treatment method;
• Photodynamic therapy. This is a fairly new method of treating brain tumors. It is based on laser irradiation of tumor cells.