Early Symptoms Of Brain Cancer

Brain metastases are sores in the brain of cancer that originated elsewhere in the body. Cancer usually begins in a particular organ, for example breast cancer and lung cancer in the lungs, and spreads through the blood through the body. Cancer cells strain into the small blood vessels of the brain and grow into tumors that can cause complaints. Brain metastases occur much more frequently than primary brain tumors. Brain metastases occur quite often in the last lifetime of a patient with a incurable form of cancer.

Tumors that regularly cause brain tumors are breast cancer, lung cancer and malignant skin cancer (melanoma). But in principle, all forms of cancer can sow to the brain.

Symptoms of brain cancer

Brain metastases give the same sign and symptoms as malignant primary brain tumors:

• Epileptic attacks
• Behavioral change
• Neurological disorders such as paralysis of an arm, leg or body
• Difficulty with or failure of speech
• Balance problems
• Headaches, nausea and vomiting

Diagnosis
In a patient already known with cancer, which has one or more of the symptoms described above, a brain metastasis is often immediately considered. On a CT scan or MRI of the brain, a metastasis is usually seen as a sharp limited contrast-staining round aberration surrounded by brain edema. More than half of the patients find more than one metastasis.

In case of doubt about the diagnosis, for example, if there is only one brain tumor, if the patient is not known with cancer or if a previous cancer has long been cured, it is necessary to diagnose using a piece of tumor tissue. This tumor tissue can be obtained by a biopsy or by an operative removal of the tumor. Under the microscope, a sowing has the outer features of the original cancer.

Sometimes a brain defect is found that could be a metastasis. If no patient has been diagnosed with the patient until now, research into a primary tumor will usually be performed, and to metastases elsewhere in the body.

Brain tumor treatment
The choice of treatment of the patient with a brain metastasis depends on the condition and age of the patient and the actual spread of the original cancer. The decision for treatment is taken in consultation with the patient in a multidisciplinary consultation. The purpose of treatment is to extend life, but especially to improve its quality.

Hormonal treatment
A strong suspicion of brain metastases usually starts with treatment with adrenal gland hormone dexamethasone. This drug reduces the pressure caused by the brain edema around the metastases and reduces the complaints within a few hours to days.

Radiotherapy
A series of irradiations is an option if a patient feels better by dexamethasone and can gradually take over the beneficial effect of dexamethasone. In case of multiple metastases, a short irradiation schedule is generally given of 5 to 10 daily irradiations. Irradiation can be given on the entire skull content or local only at the site of the brain metastasis (s). Entire local radiation with a single high dose is also called radio surgery (with a gamma knife or linear accelerator). The choice of radiotherapy depends on patient condition, the number of brain metastases and the size of the tumor. Radio surgery has a limited number of relatively small metastases in a known primary tumor, preferred over neurosurgery.

Neurosurgery
Surgical removal of a metastasis is useful if there is any doubt about the diagnosis, if there is only one brain metastasis (or some), or to correct serious complaints by the tumor immediately. In patients with multiple metastases in the brain, or with whom the cancer is active elsewhere in the body, surgical treatment is usually less obvious and radiotherapy is preferred.

Chemotherapy
The role of chemotherapy in brain metastases is limited. In certain forms of cancer (small cell lung carcinoma, breast cancer, germ cell tumor) chemotherapy is regularly prescribed. Sometimes cancer cell proliferation occurs via brain drain to the brain: leptominal metastasis. Chemotherapy is also possible in that case.