Brain tumor: types, classification and symptoms

All that foreign tissue that arises within the cavity of the skull is called a brain tumor, although these also sometimes appear in the meninges, nerves and in the skull itself. For obvious reasons, they are one of the main health problems that affect the nervous system, given their potential severity.

In general, brain tumors are more recurrent during childhood, being some tumors more common to see at this stage of development, such as medulloblastomas. There are also those that occur mainly in adulthood, with meningiomas and schwannoma being distinctive of this stage.

Below we will review the main characteristics of this type of disease, its symptoms and the types of brain tumors that are most common.

• Related article: "Cancer types: definition, risks and how they are classified"

Brain tumor symptoms

The symptoms are variable, they depend to a great extent on the size of the tumor, where it is located, and even on the speed it presents with respect to its growth.

The constant headache would be the symptom par excellence

in this condition. Other harmful effects would be the following: various cognitive or sensorimotor disorders, increased of intracranial pressure that generates vomiting, diplopia (double vision), birth of elipetogenic foci, etc.

Types of brain tumors and classification

Brain tumors can be classified in the following ways:

1. Primary and secondary

Primary ones arise within the brain or spinal cord, and rarely metastasize (spread of the tumor to another part of the body); although it is probable that, as a result of this initial tumor, new ones will arise within the nervous system itself.

The secondary ones are born outside the nervous system and what is known as brain metastasis occurs. That is, it can arise as a consequence of breast, lung, gastrointestinal cancer, etc. It should be noted that this type of tumor is malignant and inoperable.

2. Infiltrators and encapsulates

Infiltrators are distinguished by the fact that there is no limit that establishes where they start and where they end, and in encapsulated ones if it is possible to better distinguish what place it occupies.

Therefore, the former tend to be more dangerous, since as they spread, they tend to deteriorate the area in which they are located.

3. Benign and malignant

There is a scale with various degrees of hierarchy, which allows you to know when they belong on one side and when on the other. Those that are grade I are the least harmful (although in the same way they are of considerable danger when they are removed), and those that belong to IV have the worst prognosis.

As usual, Category I and II tumors do not metastasize, and the survival of those who suffer from them is generally several years; while those that are III and IV if they cause metastasis and survival does not go beyond a few / several months.

Cancer in the nervous system: examples

Here you can see a brief description of various types of tumors that appear in the nervous system.

1. Gliomas

It is the name given to any tumor that arises from a significant spread of glia. They are of the evil type.

It is generally given by an increase in astrocytes (thus generating astrocytomas); in some cases of oligodendrocytes (producing oligodendrocytomas as an effect) and multiform glioblastomas, also known as grade IV gliomas.

• Related article: "Glial cells: much more than the glue of neurons"

2. Meningiomas

Tumors of non-glial origin that originate in the meninges, mainly in the subarachnoid space or in the dura mater. They are usually benign and have a good prognosis.

3. Medulloblastomas

This is how they are called malignant tumors that arise very commonly in the cerebellum of children due to the growth of germ cells that access the same or the lower part of the brainstem. It is a bad prognosis.

4. chawnnomas

Benign tumors that arise are known in this way following Schwann cells (whose main function is to produce the myelin that covers the axons in the Peripheral Nervous System). They can exist in both cranial and spinal nerves.

Bibliographic references:

• Antonio, P. P. (2010). Introduction to neuropsychology. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.