Blastoma of the brain: symptoms, prognosis

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 the intended function. A feature 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 provoking its development.

Further in the article we will consider what the blastoma of the brain is, how it develops, and also call the symptoms accompanying its appearance.

Types of blast

Blastomas are divided into 2 types - benign and malignant. If the first in the development process push apart the surrounding tissues (in medicine it is called expansive growth), the latter sprout in them (infiltrative growth), damaging the blood vessels and spreading with blood flow throughout the body - metastasizing.

In addition, the blastoma of the brain may 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 shell of the brain or vessels surrounding it, it is characterized as primary. In such a blastoma after surgery, positive dynamics are possible. And in a situation where it sprouts from other organs (that is, it is secondary), the prospects for treatment are much worse.

The causes of blastoma of the brain

Precisely to say, for what reason in the human body begins the development of the blastoma of the brain can not anyone, although some common features in people who have this pathology, doctors still noted.

1. Presence of hereditary predisposition. If one of the relatives has been diagnosed with cancer, the risk of getting sick is greatly increased.
2. The existing defects of genes, which can be both congenital, and acquired in the process of life.
3. The impact of adverse environmental conditions: chemicals, food additives, electromagnetic and radiation exposure.
4. Their role is played also by age and race. It turns out that brain cancer most often occurs in people belonging to the European race, and men are predisposed to it more 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

The manifestations of the tumor process in the brain depend on the volume, localization and growth rate of the blastoma. In the tissues that have been squeezed or destroyed, initially one can observe a so-called focal or primary symptomatology. And in the process of progression of pathology and compression of brain structures, general cerebral symptoms are observed, due to increased intracranial pressure and a violation of hemodynamics.

Focal symptomatology largely depends on which area of the brain is affected.

• So, the patient may lose the ability to determine the position of parts of his body with his eyes closed, to the perception of external stimuli (painful, thermal or tactile).
• Alternatively, 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 the loss of oral and written skills.
• Most often the patient becomes distracted and irritable. His gait changes, coordination of movements is disrupted.
• And depending on the amount of damage, the spectrum of violations can achieve even a complete loss of awareness of one's own personality.

General cerebral symptoms

The most common symptom related to cerebral symptoms is headache. It causes both irritation of the receptors of the brain membranes and an increase in intracranial pressure.

If the blastoma affects the pituitary gland, the pain concentrates on the eyeball, which leads to photophobia and lacrimation. By the way, the headache caused by the blastoma of the brain does not respond to analgesics and, as a rule, is bursting and growing in nature.

No less common in such cases, and vomiting that occurs regardless of food intake, and dizziness, provoked by squeezing the cerebellar structures and resulting, as a consequence, a violation of the vestibular analyzer. As a rule, this causes the patient to have a persistent feeling that, while remaining motionless, he turns in one direction or another.

Stages of development of brain cancer

Blastoma of the brain, the photo of which you can see in the article, has 4 stages of development.

1. The easiest degree, which has no signs of malignancy. At this stage, the tumor grows slowly, and the doctors' predictions are usually good, as the chances of recovery are great.
2. At the second stage, the cells look already atypical. The tumor is still growing slowly, the risk of transition to a more severe stage is greatly increased.
3. In the third stage, the process begins to increase speed, and the tumor captures healthy cells. The operation conducted during this period does not guarantee a success.
4. The most complex form of cancer, characterized by a high growth rate. The boundaries of the tumor at this stage can not be determined, which forces doctors to refuse surgery, since the risk of harming the patient is very high.

Blastoma of the brain: a prognosis of the development of the disease

People whose relatives were diagnosed with brain cancer naturally wonder how long they can live with this disease.

It is clear that this greatly depends on the stage of the disease, as well as on the age of the patient, since the elderly, for understandable reasons, endure this pathology the hardest. Doctors in this case make a forecast for no more than 3 years.

And in younger patients, of course, more strength and motivation to resist the development of the disease, which greatly increases the chances. But if a blastoma of the brain of the 4th degree is diagnosed, then they are reduced to zero. However, to inform about this patient does not hurry, so as not to undermine his belief in healing, because there are many cases when patients after the operation and the corresponding therapy recovered.