Effective Cancer Treatments Increase Survival for People with Brain Tumors

NEW YORK - July 17, 2013 - PRLog -- According to the American Cancer Society, about 22,300 persons in the United States (adults and children) will be diagnosed with malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord. Malignant brain tumors contain cancer cells that are usually fast growing and invade surrounding tissue. Malignant brain tumors very rarely spread to other areas of the body, but may recur after treatment.

“Many people are unaware that the most common malignant brain tumors are those that arise outside the brain and metastasize to the brain; the most common primary sites being the lung and the breast,” says New York Neurosurgeon Ezriel Kornel MD. “Melanoma, kidney, colon and lymphoma tumors can also find their way to the brain as well. Sometimes they occur as single tumors, but they may also occur as multiple tumors. However, now with more successful treatments individual may survive for years after these brain tumors have been discovered and at times cures do occur.”

 Occasionally, especially when the brain tumors are single and large, direct surgical resection is usually performed. When tumors are multiple, radiosurgery is highly effective. Radiosurgery is highly precise high-dose radiation delivered to each tumor, usually with a single treatment, without significantly effecting surrounding brain tissue. Chemotherapy may be utilized in conjunction. When the tumor spreads to the lining of the brain, referred to as the meninges, the disease is called carcinomatous meningitis. This form is particularly difficult to treat. Sometimes a catheter is passed through the skull into the fluid cavities in the center of the brain, called the ventricles and chemotherapy is injected through the catheter directly into the brain. Whole brain radiation can also be utilized.

“New treatments for all forms of cancer are constantly evolving and individuals can maintain hope that even if the cancer spreads to the brain, they can lead full and active lives,” Dr. Kornel emphasizes.