Brain Cancer Causes and Treatment

Brain Cancer Causes and Treatment

Brain cancer is a disease of the brain in which cancer cells (malignant) arise in the brain tissue. Cancer cells grow to form a mass of cancer tissue (tumor) that interferes with brain functions such as muscle control, sensation, memory, and other normal body functions. Tumors composed of cancer cells are called malignant tumors, and those composed of mainly noncancerous cells are called benign tumors. Cancer cells that develop from brain tissue are called primary brain tumors while tumors that spread from other body sites to the brain are termed metastatic brain tumors. Statistics suggest that brain cancer occurs infrequently and is likely to develop in about 22,000 new people per year with about 13,000 deaths as estimated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Not all brain tumors are alike, even if they arise from the same type of brain tissue. Tumors are assigned a grade depending on how the cells in the tumor appear microscopically. The grade also provides insight as to the cell's growth rate. NCI lists the following grades:

    * Grade I: The tissue is benign. The cells look nearly like normal brain cells, and they grow slowly.


    * Grade II: The tissue is malignant. The cells look less like normal cells than do the cells in a grade I tumor.


    * Grade III: The malignant tissue has cells that look very different from normal cells. The abnormal cells are actively growing and have a distinctly abnormal appearance (anaplastic).


    * Grade