A brain tumor is a cancerous or non-cancerous unusual growth of muscle or cells in the brain. A brain tumor, if not treated in an early stage, may grow large and become life-threatening. Therefore it is advised to get a diagnosis and the treatment done at the earliest by Dr. Vikas, the best oncologist in Noida.
What are the different types of Brain Tumors?
Based on the location from where cancer starts developing, brain tumors can be categorized into two parts as follows.
Primary Brain Tumors: These tumors start developing in the brain and stay there.
Secondary Brain Tumors: These are the cancers that start developing in some other part of your body and reach the brain later. Some common organs whose cancers lead to secondary brain tumors include the lungs, breasts, kidneys, and skin.
Whether a brain tumor can cause cancer or not, brain tumors are classified into two types.
Benign Brain Tumors: These non-cancer-causing tumors grow slowly and rarely spread to brain tissues around them.
Malignant Brain Tumors: These tumors can cause cancer and can spread to nearby brain tissues. Some of these grow quickly, while the growth of others is slow.
Grading of Brain Tumors
Grading brain tumors depends on the time they can take to grow large and the tumor cells’ appearance.
Grade 1 – These tumors usually look normal and their growth is slow.
- Grade 2 – These brain tumors look a bit unusual and grow slowly.
- Grade 3 – Grade3 brain tumors look abnormal and they grow rather fast and spread into nearby brain tissues.
- Grade 4 – These tumors look very much abnormal and can grow as well as spread nearby very quickly.
The main types of Brain Tumors
Some of the common types of brain tumors are listed below.
- Astrocytomas – As the name suggests, Astrocytomas tumors start in the star-shaped cell known as astrocytes. These tumors usually spread to nearby tissues and often cause seizures or changes in behavior.
- Meningiomas – These are extremely common and usually develop in the brains of people of older age that are above the age of 70. Like their name, they start growing in the meninges and are mostly non-cancerous.
- Oligodendrogliomas – Developing in the covering cells that protect nerves, these tumors don’t spread to the tissues around and grow slowly.
- Ependymomas – This tumor is rare and generally forms in the brain or spinal cord. These are most common in young children under the age of 3. Ependymomas may spread alongside the cerebrospinal fluid but usually do not spread into nearby brain tissues.
- Mixed gliomas – These usually contain more than one type of cell and may include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and ependymal cells.
- Medulloblastoma – The formation of this tumor starts in the cerebellum and can spread through CSF.
- Neuronal tumors and Mixed glial – Commonly affecting people of young age, these tumors are made of neuronal and mixed glial cells. Generally, their components are ganglioglioma, pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA), and a Dysembryoplastic Neuroepithelial Tumor (DNET).
- PNET or the Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors – These start forming in the immature central nervous cells known as neuroectodermal cells. PNETs can proliferate and are more common in children of young age. Medulloblastoma is an example of this.
- Acoustic Neuroma – These non-cancerous tumors usually grow slowly and start developing on the vestibular nerve that connects the inner part of the ear to the brain.
- Choroid plexus – If the tumor can cause cancer, it is termed choroid plexus carcinoma, and if the tumor is non-cancerous, it is termed choroid plexus papilloma. These tumors mainly affect children and start developing near the CSF.
- Craniopharyngioma – They are scarce and start growing near the pituitary gland. Most of the time, these are non-cancerous and grow slowly.
- Hemangioblastoma – These are non-cancer-causing tumors of the blood vessels that can be formed in the brain.
Conclusion
There are almost more than 120 different types of brain tumors known that can affect the brain. Some of the most common ones from these are listed in this article. Dr, Vikas Goswami, the best oncologist in Noida, is a specialist who can deal with such tumors and guide you throughout the treatment. Start facing symptoms like frequent headaches, dizziness, difficulty in speaking, sudden changes in behavior, convulsions, changes in hearing or vision, etc.. You should see a doctor and get a checkup done.
Visit Dr. Vikas Goswami at Zeeva clinic to get your diagnosis done, as he is the best oncologist in Noida. The brain is the foundation of all the functions that are carried out in the body. And hence, its treatment must be done carefully without causing any complications. Therefore, prefer visiting skilled doctors like Dr. Vikas Goswami, the best oncologist in Noida.