Diagnosis
If it’s suspected that you have a brain tumor, your doctor may recommend a number of tests and procedures, including:
- A neurological exam: It may include, among other things, checking your vision, hearing, balance, coordination, strength, and reflexes. Difficulty in one or more areas may provide clues about the part of your brain that could be affected by a brain tumor.
- Imaging tests:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used to help diagnose brain tumors. Sometimes a dye is injected through a vein in your arm during your MRI study.
A number of specialized MRI scan components like functional MRI, perfusion MRI & magnetic resonance spectroscopy may help your doctor evaluate the tumor.
- Collecting and testing a sample of abnormal tissue (biopsy):A biopsy can be performed as part of an operation to remove the brain tumor, or a biopsy can be performed using a needle.
A stereotactic needle biopsy may be done for brain tumors in hard-to-reach areas or very sensitive areas within your brain that might be damaged by a more extensive operation. Your neurosurgeon drills a small hole into your skull. A thin needle is then inserted through the hole. Tissue is removed using the needle, which is frequently guided by CT or MRI scanning. The biopsy sample is then viewed under a microscope to determine if it’s cancerous or benign. Sophisticated laboratory tests can give your doctor clues about your prognosis and your treatment options. Studying your biopsy sample and determining exactly which type of brain tumor you have is a complex process. If you’re uncertain about your diagnosis, consider seeking a second opinion at a medical centre where many brain biopsies are evaluated every year.
Treatment
Treatment for a brain tumor depends on the type, size, and location of the tumor, and your overall health and preferences.
Surgery
If it is located in a place that makes it accessible for surgery, it will be removed easily
Some Tumors are small and easy to separate from surrounding brain tissue, which makes complete surgical removal possible. Other brain tumors can’t be separated from surrounding tissue or they’re located near sensitive areas in your brain, making surgery risky. In these situations, your doctor removes as much of the tumor as is safe.it reduces your signs and symptoms.
Radiation therapy
It is done by using X-rays or protons, to kill tumor cells. It can come from a machine outside your body or in some cases radiation is placed inside your body close to your brain tumor.
External beam radiation can focus just on the area of your brain where the tumor is located, or it can be applied to your entire brain. Whole-brain radiation is most often used to treat cancer that spreads to the brain from some other part of the body and forms multiple tumors in the brain.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill tumor cells. Chemotherapy drugs can be taken orally in pill form or injected into a vein (intravenously). The chemotherapy drug used most often to treat brain tumors is temozolomide (Temodar). Other chemotherapy drugs may be recommended depending on the type of cancer.
Chemotherapy side effects depend on the type and dose of drugs you receive. Chemotherapy can cause nausea, vomiting, and hair loss.
Tests of your brain tumor cells can determine whether chemotherapy will be helpful for you. The type of brain tumor you have also helped determine whether to recommend chemotherapy.
