What are the Different Types of Brain Tumors?
There are more than 150 different types of brain tumors, but they’re all classified as primary or metastatic. Primary brain tumors, which may be benign or malignant, originate in the brain and seldom metastasize to other parts of your body. Metastatic brain tumors begin as cancer in a different part of your body, and then that cancer spreads to your brain.
The most common types of benign and malignant brain tumors treated by the experts at The Metropolitan Neurosurgery Group include the following.
Benign brain tumors:
- Meningiomas, which are the most common type of brain tumor
- Schwannomas, which develop in the protective cells covering your nerves
- Pituitary adenomas, which are the most common pituitary tumor
Malignant brain tumors
- Gliomas, account for 78% of all malignant tumors
- Ependymomas, represent 2-3% of all brain tumors
- Glioblastoma multiforme, a fast-growing cancer that infiltrates the brain
The Metropolitan Neurosurgery Group frequently treats astrocytomas and pilocytic astrocytomas, two common types of gliomas.
What is a Hemangioma?
A hemangioma is a benign tumor made up of a mass of blood vessels. Hemangiomas often develop in your liver or skin, but hemangioblastomas occur in your brain. They usually appear in the cerebellum, which is the area that regulates movement and coordination.
What Symptoms Develop Due to Brain Tumors?
You develop different symptoms, depending on the size and location of your brain tumor. As a group, brain tumors cause:
- Headaches
- Confusion
- Dizziness
- Seizures
- Nausea or vomiting
- Personality changes
- Vision or hearing changes
- Difficulty speaking or thinking
- Difficulty swallowing
- Impaired coordination
- Double vision
- Uncontrolled eye movements
Some patients may develop weakness on one side of their body.
How are Brain Tumors Treated?
Comprehensive treatment for a brain tumor may include radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Whenever possible, however, surgery is the first step.
Your neurosurgeon removes as much of your tumor as possible without damaging healthy tissues and affecting your brain function. The Metropolitan Neurosurgery Group neurosurgeons have specialized training and extensive experience performing procedures to remove brain tumors such as:
- Craniotomy to resect meningiomas
- Craniotomy and resection of metastatic tumors
- Suboccipital craniotomy and resection of acoustic neuroma or metastatic tumors
- Craniotomy to resect glioblastomas and other malignant primary tumors
- Resection of intradural and extradural tumors
- Stereotactic radiosurgery
During stereotactic radiosurgery, multiple beams of radiation are precisely focused around the tumor, ensuring that the entire tumor is treated with a highly concentrated dose of radiation.
If you need compassionate and comprehensive care for a brain tumor, call The Metropolitan Neurosurgery Group, or book an appointment online.
