Hyderabad: With 18,000 new cases of brain tumours identified every year in India, brain tumours rank seventh in the incidence of cancers, observed experts ahead of World Brain Tumour Day on June 8. Ten per cent of all brain affect children while in adults, the tumors occur in other parts of the body and then spread to the brain. Sixty per cent of these tumours are non cancerous and 32 per cent are malignant.
The reason children develop tumours is because of exposure to chemicals, radiation and also inherited conditions; the disease sometimes also skips generations.
The treatment of non-cancerous tumours is sometimes very difficult because of its location where it leads to increased pressure on the brain, pushing the brain towards the skull, damaging the nerves and healthy brain tissues.
Dr. Sajal Kakkar, consultant radiation oncologist at Apollo Cancer Hospitals, said, “Tumours which originate in the brain grow very slowly. Some of the symptoms are constant and severe headaches, nausea and vomiting, especially in the mornings, seizures, changes in speech, loss of balance and co-ordination.
“We are able to identify even the smallest of tumours easily because of the availability of scans. Due to this, treatment is immediately possible.”
Some cases mimic tumour-like infections and vascular lesions, hence the treating surgeon has to confirm before attempting surgery.
Most patients also tend to go into depression after learning about their condition and this affects the treatment. Dr. Praveen Ankathi, senior consultant neurosurgeon at Global Hospitals, said, “Outlook of the patient towards the treatment and belief in the power of healing is found to be one of the main factors in treatment. Due to this, some patients do very well while others fail. Some patients and their families go into negative mode and that does not work well for the patient.”
But with huge technological leaps in the field of neuro sciences, it has become easy to visualize the tumour during the operation, due to which its removal has become much safer and also easier, state experts.
