Peer Assignment Neurology University of Chicago

1. TP THANKGE
Brain tumor
I am writingaboutmygrandfatherwhohad braintumor. Brain tumoris a cancerous or non-cancerous
mass or growthof abnormal cellsinthe brain.These tumorscan start in the brainor be spreadtothe
brainby cancer elsewhere in the body. Insome cases,apersonmaybe bornwithchangesinone or
more of these genes.Environmental factors,suchasexposure tolarge amountsof radiationfromX-rays
or previouscancertreatment,maythenleadtofurtherdamage.Inothercases,the environmental
injurytothe genesmaybe the onlycause. Braintumor mostlydevelopinchildrenbetweenthe agesof 5
and 8, whichisalso calledlowgrade gliomas. Medulloblastomasare the mostcommontype of
childhoodbraincancerandtheyoccur mostlybefore age 10.
The Central NervousSystemis active insome braintumors. Inmostinstances,CNStumorsstart inthe
normal cellsof the brainand spinal cordcalled“neurons”and“glia.” Tumors thatstart from gliainclude
glioma,astrocytoma,oligodendroglioma,andependymoma.The tumor'sspecificname oftenreflects
the CNS tumor'stissue of origin.A CNStumor beginswhenhealthycellswithinthe brainorthe spinal
cord change and grow outof control,formingamass. A CNS tumorcan be eithercancerousorbenign,
and bothtypescan potentiallybe dangerous.A canceroustumorismalignant,meaningitcangrow fast
and spreadto otherparts of the body.A benigntumormeansthe tumorwill oftengrow more slowly
and will notspreadtootherparts of the body.
A CNStumor isespeciallyproblematicbecause aperson’sthoughtprocessesandmovementsmaybe
affected.And,the tissuesaroundthe tumorare oftenvital tothe body’sfunctioning.The treatmentof a
CNStumor ininfantsandyoungchildrenmaybe especiallychallengingbecause achild’sbrainisstill
developing.Doctorsconsiderall of these factorsincreatingthe besttreatmentplanforeachchildwitha
CNStumor. Asthe tumor grows,itcreatespressure onand changesthe functionof surroundingbrain
tissue,whichcausessignsandsymptomssuchasheadaches,nauseaandbalance problems.Tumors
themselvescancause nerve damage aswell if theygrow close toand presson the nerve.And,patients
withcancersof the nervoussystem –such as braintumors,spine tumorsand skill base tumors –are
more likelytodevelopperipheral neuropathydue tonerve damage resultingfromthe tumor.
He had severe headachesbecause of the tumorthatwas inhisbrain,and treatmentdidnothelpmuch.
He wasaffectedby glioblastoma. Thoughit’sthe thirdmostcommonof all braintumors,glioblastomais
the most commonprimarybraintumor,whichmeansitoriginatesinthe brain.It’salsothe most lethal.
Tumorstendto be muchmore gradual inonset.But theycan suddenly crosssome thresholdandresult
ina insymptoms,sowe can’t automaticallyknow fromthe suddenonsetwhetherhe hada stroke or a
tumor.