- Brain tumor ranked 10th most common tumor in India in 2018
- Indian data indicates that as much as 10% of new cases reported for cancer could be brain tumors
Meerut: 42 year old Ramesh Chauhan came to Max Healthcare for treatment of brain tumor. Following symptoms of weakness on one side of his upper part of the body, and distorted movements on any task he conducted, the patient opted for a MRI scan of the brain and was diagnosed with brain tumor on the area of motor nerves. Motor nerves are responsible for carrying impulses from the brain or spinal cord to a muscle or gland. All the movements carried out in the body of every individual is driven by the motor nerves.
Primary brain tumors have a history of commencing in the brain area and limited to the brain area as most central nervous system cancers are known to. Enlargement of the brain tumor impacts the movements ad changes the functions of the surrounding brain tissue due to the pressure it exerts in the area.
Dr Gagan Saini, Director, Radiation Oncology, Max Healthcare says, “This patient came to me with one side of weakness in the arm. The reports of the MRI brain revealed that the tumor in the brain was pressing the motor area. Surgery could be done to remove the tumor which would have given relief to the patient. But this involved a high risk of destroying the motor nerves to the extent that the patient would have been paralysed for a lifetime. So we opted for advanced radiation to melt the tumor without any damage to the motor strip.”
Growth of abnormal cells in the brain is brain cancer or brain tumor. There are different types of brain tumors and each type is associated with different symptoms. While some brain tumors are non-cancerous, some are malignant or cancerous. Some tumors are metastatic which means that cancer cells in some other part of the body of a patient has travelled to the brain and multiplied there. This is called a secondary brain tumor.
Dr Gagan Saini says, “Brain tumors do not have a specific cause. The tumors just start with cells multiplying and growing in size in any part of the brain. These are primary tumors. Secondary tumors are the ones which have an inception somewhere else in the body and spread to the brain. What one has to look out for are unprecedented headaches which are severe and worsened with any physical activity. When this condition worsens, especially in a person who normally never suffers from headaches and accompanied with nausea or vomiting, persistent room spinning, dizziness or loss of balance, one needs to see a doctor and undergo right tests for correct diagnosis”
Diagnosis of a brain tumor is done by a neurologic exam, CT (computer tomography scan) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and other tests like an angiogram, spinal tap and biopsy. Your diagnosis helps predict the treatment.
Dr Gagan Saini adds, “The first treatment for any brain tumor has traditionally been surgery. However with newer technology of TrueBeam Stx we can give pin pointed radiation therapy to small tumors to cure them without surgery. This machine delivers X-Ray radiation of very high energy that goes through a very small mouth of the machine (less than 5mm size) and hits a pre-determined target and guided by advanced system called as ExacTrac to make sure the radiation dose goes only to the right place.”
We treat our patients very successfully with small daily fractions with pinpointed radiation therapy to the tumor. Other side effects except small area of hair loss have not been reported. No headaches or deterioration of muscle movements are seen and the patients are free of the tumor.
Brain tumors in children require this type of precision radiotherapy even more because the brain is still developing and one should avoid radiation to surrounding normal or unaffected brain as much as one can.
The overall life expectancy of patients suffering from brain tumors is increasing rapidly due to better surgical procedures and treatments. The importance of precision radiation should not be understated because it helps preserve the quality of life once the patient is recovered. Most of the patients get back to their previous work and level of life after treatment and are not left to be socially or economically handicapped.
Research and data reveals that in India annual figures of people diagnosed with brain tumors are at 40,000 – 50,000 out of which there are 20% children diagnosed. While a few years ago this data revealed 5% children, the rising numbers have been consistent and alarming. Reports also indicate that over 2,500 children every year suffer from brain tumour.
