Treatment
When a brain tumor is diagnosed, a medical team will be formed to assess the treatment options presented by the leading surgeon to the patient and his/her family. Given the location of primary solid neoplasms of the brain in most cases a "do-nothing" option is usually not presented. Neurosurgeons take the time to observe the evolution of the neoplasm before proposing a management plan to the patient and his/her relatives. These various types of treatment are available depending on neoplasm type and location and may be combined to give the best chances of survival:
- surgery: complete or partial resection of the tumor with the objective of removing as many tumor cells as possible
- radiotherapy: the most commonly used treatment for brain tumors; the tumor is irradiated with beta, x rays or gamma rays.
- chemotherapy: is a treatment option for cancer, however it is seldom used to treat brain tumors as the blood and brain barrier prevents the drugs from reaching the cancerous cells. Chemotherapy can be thought of as a poison that prevents the growth and division of all cells in the body including cancerous cells. Thus the significant side effects associated and experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy.
- A variety of experimental therapies are available through clinical trials
Survival rates in primary brain tumors depend on the type of tumor, age, functional status of the patient, the extent of surgical tumor removal and other factors specific to each case.
Read more about this topic: Brain Tumor
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—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)
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—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)