Treatment of brain cancer
Brain tumors vary by rate of growth and malignancy. Generally, they do not spread beyond the central nervous system. There is no room inside the skull for any extra growth. Even a benign, slow growing tumor will eventually cause problems, as it increases brain pressure and displaces healthy brain tissue.
Brain tumor treatment is always planned on an individual basis. The treatment will depend on the type of tumor, its malignancy, its location and in what way and how fast it is growing. The choice of treatment will also depend on your age and general condition, any underlying conditions you may have and your preferences. At HUS, we devise treatment plans in a multiprofessional working group experienced in treating brain tumors.
With brain tumors, we always consider the possibility of removing the tumor in full or in part. Sometimes we have to settle for a biopsy. Other treatments required will depend on the nature of the tumor and how extensive the surgery to remove it would be.
Surgical removal of the tumor may be sufficient in itself. We will examine the tumor and then consider whether you need any further treatment. After surgery or a biopsy, we can use radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or a combination of both. In the case of a benign and well-defined tumor, complete removal is usually a curative treatment.
Some brain tumors grow into the brain tissue, meaning that the line between the two is unclear. Such tumors cannot be completely removed. In such cases, the aim in surgery is to remove as closely as possible the area that is considered to form part of the tumor. Ensuring that the remaining portion of the tumor is as small as possible makes it easier to provide further treatment with radiation and/or chemotherapy.
We can direct radiation therapy precisely and evenly to a defined location. The purpose of radiation therapy is to destroy the tumor or to reduce its size and its propensity to grow. We provide radiation therapy in small daily doses, often across several weeks, to safeguard healthy brain tissue. Using MRI, we craft the radiation therapy in 3D to match the shape of the tumor. Radiation therapy is often also given to the area surrounding the tumor, in order to target any individual tumorous cells.
Many patients experience adverse effects from radiation therapy to the head. An immediate such effect is headaches caused by brain swelling; cortisone medication is given to prevent this. Radiation therapy can also cause hair loss in the treatment area.
Only a few chemotherapy agents are able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and pass from the bloodstream to the brain. Thus, only a few such agents are suitable for treating brain tumors.