Cancer. A word that many people know as a reality. There are many different types of cancer that affect various amounts of people. One especially dangerous cancer is neuroblastoma. “Neuroblastoma . . . accounts for about 6% of all cancers in children . . . The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 1 to 2 years” ("What Are the Key Statistics about Neuroblastoma?"). Neuroblastoma is a devastating cancer found mostly in young children that is hard to terminate but learning the symptoms and most effective treatments can help with diagnosis and cure for an affected child. Understanding what neuroblastoma is, is critical for a cure with this condition. All cancer involves abnormal cells that grow and divide out of control. Neuroblastoma …show more content…
There are many different types of treatment but the main ones include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, sometimes children’s immunes systems rid themselves of neuroblastoma before anything needs to be done. Therefore, doctors prefer to give the tumor a little bit of time, depending on the seriousness, before taking unnecessary actions. Surgery is often done for many types of cancer and can be a very successful treatment. Despite this fact, “ . . . most neuroblastoma is not found until after the cancer has spread. In that situation, the doctor removes as much of the tumor as possible during surgery” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). If the tumor cannot be completely removed by surgery, sometimes doctors will advise chemotherapy or radiation to eliminate the rest. Chemotherapy can also be effective but can have some unwanted side effects. “Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells, usually by stopping the cancer cells’ ability to grow and divide . . . The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the individual and the dose used, but they can include fatigue, risk of infection, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, loss of appetite, and diarrhea” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). The doctor and parents may believe that the potential side effects could be too dangerous for a young child to endure. Another treatment option includes the use of radioactive energy. It is explained, “Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells . . . radiation therapy can sometimes cause problems with the normal growth and development of a child’s brain and the ovaries (in girls) or testicles (in boys) . . .” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). Alike to chemotherapy, the side effects may be too severe for young children. The possibility of stunting a child’s brain growth can seem to harsh.
Glioblastomas (GBM) are tumors that arise from the supportive tissues of the brain. These supportive tissues are composed of astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells that play a very important role in neural functioning. Glioblastomas are highly malignant because astrocytes reproduce quickly and are supported by a large network of blood vessels. Although they are generally found in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain, glioblastomas can be found anywhere in the brain or spinal cord. The tumors come from normal brain cells, so it is easy for them to invade and live within normal brain tissue. However, glioblastoma rarely spreads elsewhere in the body. (1)
Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is known as the most aggressive form of malignant brain tumor in adults [1,2,4,5]. Patients who are diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme have an extremely poor rate of survival. Glioblastoma multiforme has been found to be sporadic and doesn’t have any linkage or genetic pre-dispositions. The prognostic of GBM is poor and there has been little improvement of the patients overall survival rates for the past three decades [5]. Although patients undergo surgical resection along with chemotherapy and high-dose radiotherapy the survival rate after diagnosis is still low at the survival time of 14-15.5months [1,2,4,5]. There has been hope that immunotherapy may contribute as a beneficial treatment to this malignant brain tumor [1]. Treatments that would be effective in GBM patients are desperately needed. Three studies were reviewed to get a better understanding of what treatments or combination of treatments would be more beneficial to GBM patients.
There are two main categories of brain tumors as to the seriousness; Malignant, and Benign. A Malignant tumor can grow and spread aggressively, and overpower other healthy cells by taking their space, blood, and nutrients. A Benign tumor is less serious than a Malignant, however, it can still cause many problems in the brain by pressing on nearby tissue. They are typically slow growing and rarely spread to other parts of the body. Benign brain tumors can be considered Malignant if they are located in areas of the brain that control vital functions like breathing. Unlike benign tumors, the cell structure of a malignant brain tumor is largely different than normal brain cells. Malignant tumors tend to grow faster and can be more invasive than benign tumors. They are also are life threatening. Tumors are classified as grades one through four. The more aggressive a brain tumor is, the higher the score. Another type of tumor is the pituitary tumor. A pituitary tumor is an abnormal growth of cells in the pituitary gland. It’s about the size of a pea and it’s located at the center of the brain behind the nose and eyes. "Malignant and Benign Brain Tumors."
Cancer is a disease in which cells multiply out of control and gradually build a mass of tissue called a tumor. There has been a large amount of research dedicated to the treatment and cure of cancer. Several types of treatments have been developed. The following are just some of the major examples of cancer therapy: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biologic therapy, biorhythms, unconventional treatments, and hyperthermia. Each type of treatment is discussed in detail below.
A Brain Tumor is a mass of abnormal cells that vary in size. They can also be classified as Benign or Malignant. Benign Tumors are non-cancerous, and have definite borders that make removal of the entire mass possible. On the other hand, Malignant (Cancerous) Brain Tumors spread, aggressively invading nearby tissue, and have a higher chance of recurring after surgical removal.
Cancer is the term used to describe a group of diseases consisting of hundreds of ailments and although there exists so many different types of cancer, they all begin in a similar way. The body is made up of over a trillion cells, and cancer is the uncontrolled growth of malfunctioning cells in the body (Dawson, 1996). “Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. During the early years of a person’s life, normal cells divide faster to allow the person to grow. After the person becomes an adult, most cells divide only to replace worn-out or dying cells or to repair injuries” (American Cancer Society, 2012).
Surgery to remove the tumor is required in almost all cases of chordoma. Surgical removal of the tumor is usually followed with radiation treatment. Chemotherapy is ineffective for treating chordoma.
For cancer patients there are several treatment options. Surgery can remove cancerous tumors, chemotherapy uses drugs for treatment, and radiation therapy. The doctor in charge of the patient’s treatment may also choose to use radiation therapy. “Radiation
According to SEER Statistics, 23,380 people are estimated to get a brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis. Out of those people, 14,320 people are estimated to die from their brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis (National Cancer Institute). Cancer is a type of dangerous tumor, or a buildup of extra cells that form a mass of tissue, that can be life threatening (National Cancer Institute). The term for a tumor that is cancerous is a malignat tumor, whereas a benign tumor does not contain cancer cells (National Cancer Institute). According to the National Cancer Institute, the causes of brain cancer are unknown, but risk factors include family history and excessive radiaton exposure. Although they are not always due to a brain tumor, comon symptoms include headaches, nausea, speech, hearing, vision, and mood changes, problems with balance and mamories, seizures, and numbness in arms and legs (National Cancer Institute). MRI and CT scans as well as surgical biposies (or the removal of part of the tumor to be examined) are used to diagnose brain cancer (National Cancer Institute). Different types of treatment options include radiation therapy, surgery to remove the tumor, and chemotherapy. According to Charles Davis, MD, PhD and Nitin Tandon, MD of WebMD.com, chemotherapy is “ the use of powerful drugs to kill tumor cells”. There are a few different types of chemotherapy, but all of which bring out the same kinds of side effects. Although the physical side effects of chemotherapy are commonly known, few people know of the emotional toll chemotherapy can take on a patient and his or her family as they go though this process.
I was a child when my aunt got sick, and my fascination about the field of medicine began. She had brain cancer. While I watched the disease progress I was flooded, not only with sadness and grief, but with questions. With two psychologists for parents I had a lot of support and understanding of my feelings, but I was left curious about the medical aspect of the disease and why there was no cure. The notion that the brain could change someone’s entire personality and physical function was amazing to me. Spending a lot of time in hospitals, I observed so much about the impact of a cancer diagnosis on patients and their families, and about what happens to people through the disease process. I noticed the enormous influence that the medical professional’s
Steen, Grant R. and Joseph Mirro. Childhood Cancer: A Handbook From St.Jude Children's Research Hospital . Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publisher, 2000.
By harnessing this normal cell process, scientists hope to have found an effective way to combat cancer. Cancer is a disease that affects human somatic cells. It causes the cells to divide uncontrollably and form masses known as tumors. There are two different types of cancer tumors. Some tumors are benign, and other tumors are malignant.
People with a brain tumor may experience the following symptoms or signs. Sometimes, people with a brain tumor do not have any of these changes. Or, the cause of a symptom may be another medical condition that is not a brain tumor. Symptoms of a brain tumor can be general or specific.
How does one see the symptoms for childhood cancer? First one must know that there are many different types. There are forty different types of children’s cancer, including: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Sarcomas, cancers of the nervous system, liver cancers, kidney cancer, and more. Out of these cancers, the two most common childhood cancers are Leukemia, and brain tumors. What is leukemia? It is a cancer in which the bone marrow and other organs that produce blood produce and increased amount of immature or abnormal white blood cells. The symptoms of leukemia are paleness, excessive bruising, pain in the joints, and fatigue. Brain tumors are formed when a massive amount of cells are produced on the brain. The symptoms for this are frequent headaches, vomiting, seizures, decreased coordination, weakness, and problems concerning vision.
“According to a recent estimate by WHO even though brain cancer occurs quite infrequently, it develops in about 22,000 new people every year along with 13,000 estimated deaths” (News Pointe). The definition of the word cancer is, “a disease in which abnormal cells divide uncontrollably and destroy body tissue.” More specifically brain cancer is a mass growth of abnormal cells in the brain. This is a very interesting disease because it attacks one of the most important and complex organs of the human body. This cancer is very deadly and although it is treatable, it is not curable. “These findings indicate that long-term survivors of brain cancer continue to experience significant quality of life deficits for many years after their primary diagnosis and treatment” (Klein, 240). Patients can however