Blastoma in medicine is called a pathological excessive growth of tissue, which consists of deformed cells that have lost their shape and are unable to perform their intended function. And the peculiarity of this process is that the cells from which such a tumor is formed continue to grow even after the cessation of the pathological effect that provoked its development.
Later in the article we will look at what brain blastoma is, how it develops, and also name the symptoms that accompany its appearance.
Types of blastoma
Blastomas are divided into 2 types - benign and malignant. If the former in the process of development push apart the surrounding tissues (in medicine this is called expansive growth), then the latter grow into them (infiltrative growth), damaging blood vessels and spreading with the bloodstream throughout the body - metastasizing.
Besides, blastomabrain can be different and depending on the origin or type of tissue in which the pathological process began. So, if the named tumor appears from the membrane of the brain or the vessels surrounding it, then it is characterized as primary. In such a blastoma, after surgery, positive dynamics is possible. And in a situation where it grows from other organs (that is, it is secondary), the prospects for treatment are much worse.
Causes of brain blastoma
No one can say exactly for what reason brain blastoma begins to develop in the human body, although doctors still noted some common features in people with this pathology.
- The presence of a hereditary predisposition. If one of the relatives was diagnosed with cancer, then the risk of getting sick is greatly increased.
- Existing gene defects, which can be either congenital or acquired during life.
- Exposure to adverse environmental conditions: chemicals, food additives, electromagnetic and radioactive exposure.
- Age and race also play a role. It turns out that brain cancer is most common in people belonging to the European race, and men are predisposed to it to a greater extent than women. And the most risky age for this disease is 45 years, although it can appear in newborn babies.
Blastoma of the brain: symptoms
Manifestations of a tumorprocesses in the brain depend on the volume, localization and growth rate of the blastoma. In the tissues compressed or destroyed by the tumor, at first one can observe the so-called focal or primary symptoms. And in the process of progression of the pathology and compression of the brain structures, general cerebral symptoms are observed, due to an increase in intracranial pressure and impaired hemodynamics.
Focal symptoms largely depend on which area of the brain is affected.
- Thus, the patient may lose the ability to determine the position of parts of his body with his eyes closed, to perceive external stimuli (pain, thermal or tactile).
- Or the patient may experience memory impairment, paralysis and paresis of certain parts or the whole body, the appearance of convulsive seizures, impaired ability to perceive sounds, and loss of oral and written speech skills.
- Most often the patient becomes distracted and irritable. His gait changes, his coordination of movements is disturbed.
- And depending on the size of the lesion, the spectrum of disorders can even reach a complete loss of self-awareness.
Cerebral symptoms
The most common symptom related to cerebral symptoms is headache. It causes both irritation of the receptors of the meninges and an increase in intracranial pressure.
If the pituitary gland is affected by blastoma, then the pain is concentrated on the eyeball, which leads tophotophobia and lacrimation. By the way, the headache caused by brain blastoma is not amenable to the action of analgesics and, as a rule, is bursting and growing.
No less common in such cases is vomiting, which occurs regardless of food intake, and dizziness, provoked by compression of the cerebellar structures and the consequent disruption of the vestibular analyzer. As a rule, this causes the patient to have a strong feeling that he, while remaining motionless, is turning in one direction or another.
Stages of brain cancer development
Blastoma of the brain, the photo of which you can see in the article, has 4 stages of development.
- The mildest degree, which has no signs of malignancy. At this stage, the tumor grows slowly, and the prognosis of doctors is usually good, since the chances of a cure are high.
- At the second stage, the cells already look atypical. The tumor is still growing slowly, the risk of transition to a more severe stage is greatly increased.
- At the third stage, the process begins to increase in speed, and the tumor captures he althy cells. An operation carried out during this period does not guarantee success.
- The most complex form of cancer, characterized by a high growth rate. It is almost impossible to determine the boundaries of the tumor at this stage, which forces doctors to refuse surgery, since the risk of causing more harm to the patient is very high.
Blastoma of the brain: prognosis of the development of the disease
People whose relatives have been diagnosed with brain cancer naturally wonder how long they can live with the disease.
It is clear that this is highly dependent on the stage of the disease, as well as the age of the patient, since the elderly, for obvious reasons, endure this pathology the hardest. Doctors in this case make a forecast for no more than 3 years.
And younger patients, of course, have more strength and motivation to resist the development of the disease, which significantly increases the chances. But if grade 4 brain blastoma is diagnosed, then they are reduced to zero. True, they are in no hurry to inform the patient about this, so as not to undermine his faith in healing, because there are many cases when patients recovered after surgery and appropriate therapy.
