Name : Tia Ramadhany

Prodi : DIII Analis Kesehatan

Definition
What is brain cancer?
Brain cancer is a condition in which the growth of malignant tumors in the
brain. This disease is divided into two types. Consists of primary brain cancer
(accounting for 75 percent of all brain tumor cases) whose causes come from the
brain, and secondary brain cancer (25 percent of all brain cancer cases) that arises
from other parts of the body and spreads to the brain.
About 40 percent of brain cancers begin with neurons that support Glial
tumor cells. Glial U cells include astrocytes tumors, primary glia tumors, glioma
oligodendrocytes, ventricular meningiomas, and medulloblastoma. This type of
secondary brain cancer is usually caused by the spread of other cancers, such as
breast, lung, kidney, colon, and melanoma on the skin. Brain cancer is an
unavoidable condition but most can be treated if detected early.

How often does brain cancer occur?

Secondary brain cancer is more common in adults. Primary brain cancer can
affect anyone but more often for children under 15 years and middle aged people.

Signs & Symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of brain cancer?
Prolonged headaches are a common symptom of brain cancer because
tumors grow pressing on the skull. Headaches usually occur in the morning after
waking up and are increasingly sick when coughing and sneezing.
Other symptoms depend on the location of the tumor, but can also result in
changes in your daily habits. The following are symptoms of brain cancer:
• Headaches, especially in the morning. Headaches can be mild or even severe
• Muscle weakness that often occurs on one side of the body
• Paresthesias, the body feels like being pricked by pins and pins
• The body is difficult to balance and coordination on messy body movements
• Difficulty walking, arms and legs sometimes also become weak
• Seizures
Other symptoms and signs of brain cancer that might occur include:
• Changes in mental status. This can be a change in concentration, memory,
attention, even confusion without cause
• Feeling nausea and vomiting especially in the morning which can be caused by
vertigo
• Abnormalities in vision (for example, double vision, blurred vision, loss of
peripheral vision)
• Difficulty in speaking (caused by noise)
• Gradual changes in intellectual or emotional capacity. For example, it is difficult
or experiencing inability to speak followed by not understanding what the other
person is saying.
In many people, the above symptoms may be ignored because the symptoms
do not last significantly. Symptoms of brain cancer can grow and last long, but
sometimes, these symptoms can also appear faster. In some cases, people might
think that the symptoms of brain cancer that they experience are stroke conditions,
but they are not. In some patients, the symptoms may be clearer, especially if the
cancer is located in certain brain lobes, which are usually responsible for bodily
functions.

Cancer Stage
Stage of development of cancer stage
Growth and symptoms of brain cancer vary, depending on the stage of
development of the cancer. Cells in tumors that grow quickly and aggressively,
usually when viewed under a microscope look abnormal. The National Cancer
Institute (NCI) uses a stadium grading system to classify malignant tumors. The
following stage:
• Stage I: Cancerous tissue in the brain is still benign. The cells look almost like
normal brain cells, and cell growth tends to be slow.
• Stage II: The cancerous tissue has started to become malignant. Cancer cells begin
to look abnormal, unlike stage 1 cancer cells.
• Stage III: Malignant cancerous tissue has cells that look very different from
normal cells. These abnormal cells are referred to as anaplasik and begin to grow
actively at this stage.
• Stage IV: Malignant cancerous tissue begins to show abnormal cells that are clear
and grow aggressive or very fast.
To determine the growth and development of tumors in the brain, doctors focus on
tumor characteristics and their effects on brain function.
The main factors used to assess brain tumors include:
• Size and location of tumors or cancer in the brain
• What types or tissues or cells affect the brain
• Resectability (the likelihood of how large the tumor can be removed through
cancer surgery)
• How spread the cancer cells are in the brain or spinal cord
• The possibility of cancer has spread to the outside of the brain or not The doctor
will also consider the patient's age and symptoms of cancer in the brain.
• Patients will also be seen how much basic functions, such as speech, hearing or
movement are disturbed or changed due to cancer cells in the brain.
Determine the stage of cancer in the brain, the way is quite different from
determining the stage of other cancers in the body. Lung, colon and breast cancers
are mapped based on location in the body, size, lymph node involvement, and
possible spread. Whereas malignant tumors in the brain are assessed based on how
aggressive (malignant) tumor cells appear under a microscope.
The level and ability to develop tumors will also help doctors or experts
make treatment decisions. Surgery depends on tumor conditions such as where they
are located, how big or small their size, how wide the spread of cancer cells and
certainly see the patient's overall health condition (including medical history).

Cause
What causes brain cancer?
Brain cancer is a condition that cannot be concluded with certainty. Patients
can find out if they experience this condition only through symptoms and proper
diagnosis from a doctor. The researchers found some changes that occur in normal
brain cells can cause them to form tumors and end up becoming the brain.
Primary brain tumors arise from many types of brain tissue (for example
glia cells, astrocytes, and other types of brain cells). While metastatic brain cancer
is caused by the spread of cancer cells from the body's organs to the brain. However,
the causes of changes from normal cells to cancer cells in primary and metastatic
brain tumors are not fully understood. Data collected by research scientists shows
that people with certain risk factors are more likely to be at risk of cancer in the
brain.
Quoted from Medicine.Net, people who work or stay long in the
environment such as in refineries or oil drilling, fuel handlers, chemicals, chemists,
embalmers, or rubber industry workers, have a higher risk of developing brain
cancer than people who work in the environment besides that.
In addition, the risk of heredity such as family members who have a history
of cancer in the brain can also affect. However, heredity (genetic transfer of traits
from parents to children) as a cause of brain tumors has not been proven.
While other risk factors such as smoking, radiation exposure, and viral
infections (HIV) have been widely thought to be the cause, but have not been
proven to cause cancer in the brain. There is no good evidence that cancer in the
brain is transmitted through trauma to the head or caused by cell phone use.
Statement of aspartame or artificial sweeteners can cause brain cancer also has not
been proven. In fact, the FDA or the equivalent of BPOM in America believes that
it does not cause cancer in the brain.

Risk factors
What increases my risk for brain cancer?
If you experience some of the symptoms of brain cancer as mentioned
above, immediately schedule a consultation and doctor's examination as soon as
possible. The following factors can increase the risk of brain cancer, including:
• Old age
• Radiation exposure
• Heredity
Medicines & Medications
The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. Always
consult your doctor.
What are my treatment options for brain cancer?
The following actions can be used to treat brain cancer including tumor
removal surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.
1. Surgery to remove cancer in the brain
Surgery to remove malignant tumors in the brain is done by trying to remove
all tumor cells by cutting the tumor. The doctor will leave normal brain tissue. This
surgery involves opening the skull (craniotomy), which is often called invasive
surgery. Some cancers that attack the brain are not all operable by surgeons, because
in some cases surgery can actually cause the brain to become damaged and even
life threatening. Patients with a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumor will usually
be given various suggestions or treatment options as an alternative. If the patient is
to be operated on, the doctor will consider the type and position of the tumor which
will determine whether surgery to remove the tumor can succeed or not. In addition,
surgery can also provide a diagnosis of cancer and reduce pressure on the brain.
2. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a common procedure for treating brain cancer, but not for
primary brain tumors. The doctor will also give anti-seizure drugs such as phenytoin
which is often used before and after surgery. For brain swelling, the doctor will
recommend the use of a steroid drug (dexamethasone). The way chemotherapy
works is by destroying tumor cells in the body using certain chemicals (drugs).
Chemotherapy drugs will kill cells that grow and divide at an abnormal rate,
including cancer cells.
Unlike surgery or radiation therapy, chemotherapy does not target a specific
area, so it can affect the whole body. That's why the results will also be effective on
cancer cells that have spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
Unfortunately, chemotherapy is a treatment that will also affect healthy body cells
quickly such as skin cells, hair, intestines, and marrow cells.
 3. Radiation or radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is a treatment method that relies on radiation by using high-
energy waves such as x-rays, gamma, protons, and electrons to kill cancer cells.
Although radiotherapy is most often used to treat cancer patients, but sometimes
this therapy is also used to treat non-cancer patients, such as tumors and disorders
of the thyroid gland.
Radiotherapy works by damaging the DNA that regulates the division of
cancer cells, so that cells can no longer develop and even die.
This treatment can also affect the development of normal cells, but the side
effects caused will disappear if you do not do therapy. Unlike chemotherapy that
affects all parts of the body because it uses blood flow as an intermediary,
radiotherapy is a local treatment that aims to reduce the number of cancer cells
without having to damage the cells and tissues around the cancer cells. But
radiotherapy is managed to kill cancer cells or normal cells that are growing. To
make it die and not grow back, it takes several days or even weeks.
Therefore, side effects will occur some time after radiotherapy such as
fatigue and skin problems such as itching or irritation will appear after doing
therapy.

Source: https://hellosehat.com/ disease/ brain- cancer/