Brain tumor: types, classification and symptoms

This disease associated with Cancer is one of the most serious health problems of the nervous system.

Any foreign tissue that arises within the cavity of the skull is called a brain tumor, although these also sometimes appear in the meninges, nerves and in the skull itself. For obvious reasons, they are one of the main health problems affecting the nervous system, given their potential seriousness.

In general, brain tumors are more recurrent during childhood.Some tumors are more commonly seen at this stage of development, such as medulloblastomas. There are also those that occur mainly in adulthood, being meningiomas and schwannoma distinctive of this stage.

Below we will review the main characteristics of these types of diseases, their symptoms and the most frequent types of brain tumors.

Symptoms of brain tumor

The symptoms are variable, they depend to a great extent on the size that the tumor presents, of where it is located, and even of the speed that it presents with respect to its growth.

The constant headache would be the symptom par excellence in this condition. in this condition. Other detrimental effects would be the following: various cognitive or sensorimotor disorders, increased intracranial pressure that generates vomiting, diplopia (double vision), birth of ellipetogenic foci, etc.

Types of brain tumors and classification

Brain tumors can be classified in the following ways:

1. primary and secondary

Primary tumors arise within the brain or spinal cord, and rarely produce metastasis (extension of the tumor to another part of the body); although it is likely that, as a result of this initial tumor, new ones may arise within the nervous system itself.

Secondary tumors arise outside the nervous system and produce what is known as brain metastasis. In other words, it can arise as a consequence of breast, lung, gastrointestinal, etc. cancer. It should be noted that this type of tumor is malignant and inoperable.

2. Infiltrating and encapsulated tumors

Infiltrating tumors are distinguished by the fact that there is no boundary that establishes where they begin and where they end, and in encapsulated tumors it is possible to distinguish in a better way which place they occupy.

Therefore, the former tend to be more dangerous, since as they spread, they tend to deteriorate the area in which they are located.

3. Benign and malignant

There is a scale with various degrees of hierarchywhich makes it possible to know when they belong to one side and when to the other. Those belonging to grade I are the least harmful (although they are still of considerable danger when removed), and those belonging to IV are those with the worst prognosis.

In general, tumors belonging to category I and II do not generate metastasesand the survival of those who suffer from them is usually several years; while those belonging to III and IV do cause metastasis and survival does not go beyond a few months.

Cancer in the nervous system: examples

Here you can see a brief description of several types of tumors that appear in the nervous system.

1. Gliomas

This is the name given to any tumor that arises due to a considerable spread of neuroglia. They are of malignant type.

It is usually caused by an increase of astrocytes (thus generating astrocytomas); in some cases of oligodendrocytes (producing as an effect oligodendrocytomas) and glioblastomas multiforme, also known as grade IV gliomas.

2. Meningiomas

This is the name given to tumors of non-glial origin that arise in the meninges, mainly in the subarachnoid space or in the dura mater. They are usually benign and have a good prognosis.

3. Medulloblastomas

This is the name given to malignant tumors that very commonly arise in the cerebellum of children due to the growth of germ cells that access the cerebellum or the lower part of the brainstem. It has a poor prognosis.

4. chawnnomas

This is the name given to benign tumors arising from Schwannomas. from the Schwann cells (whose main function is to produce the myelin that covers the axons in the peripheral nervous system). They can exist in both cranial and spinal nerves.

Bibliographic references:

• Antonio, P. P. (2010). Introduction to neuropsychology. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.