Other types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.
New methods of
delivering radiation therapy
Radiosensitizers: Drugs
that make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation. Combining radiation with
radiosensitizers may kill more tumor cells.
Hyperfractionation:
Radiation therapy given in smaller-than-usual doses two or three times a day
instead of once a day.
Stereotactic radiosurgery: A radiation
therapy technique that delivers radiation directly to the tumor with less damage
to healthy tissue. The doctor uses a CT scan or MRI to find the exact location
of the tumor. A rigid head frame is attached to the skull and high-dose
radiation is directed to the tumor through openings in the head frame, reducing
the amount of radiation given to normal brain tissue. This procedure does not
involve surgery. This is also called stereotaxic radiosurgery and gamma knife
therapy.
Hyperthermia therapy
Hyperthermia therapy is a treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high
temperatures to damage and kill cancer cells or to make cancer cells more
sensitive to the effects of radiation and certain anticancer drugs.
Biologic therapy
Biologic therapy is a treatment that uses the patient's immune system to
fight cancer. Substances made by the body or made in a laboratory are used to
boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer. This type
of cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy.
How are metastatic brain tumors treated?
Tumors that have spread to the brain
from somewhere else in the body are usually treated with radiation therapy
and/or surgery. Chemotherapy may be used if the primary tumor is the kind that
responds well to chemotherapy. Clinical trials are under way to study new
treatments.
Cancer is a disease caused by an abnormal growth of cells, also called malignancy. It is a group of 100 different diseases, and is not contagious. Cancer can be treated through chemotherapy, a treatment of drugs that destroy cancer cells.
Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which the person has seizures. There are two kinds of seizures, focal and generalized. There are many causes of epilepsy. Treatment of epilepsy (seizures) depends upon the cause and type of seizures experienced.
Encephalopathy means brain disease, damage, or malfunction. Causes of encephalopathy are varied and numerous. The main symptom of encephalopathy is an altered mental state. Other symptoms include lethargy, dementia, seizures, tremors, and coma. Treatment of encephalopathy depends on the type of encephalopathy (anoxia, diabetic, Hashimoto's, hepatic, hyper - hypotensive, infectious, metabolic, infections, uremic, or Wernicke's) are examples of types of encephalopathy.
Hydronephrosis is a condition in which the kidney swells, due to a backup of urine. Hydronephrosis generally occurs with another disease.Symptoms of hydronephrosis include nausea, vomiting, urinary tract infection, fever, painful urination, increased urinary frequency and urgency, flank pain, and swelling of the abdomen. Treatment of hydronephrosis depends on the cause.
Hypothermia is having a body core temperature of less than 35 C or 95 F. Most causes of hypothermia are preventable. Risk factors for hypothermia include age, mental status, medical conditions, and medications. Symptoms of hypothermia generally depend upon the severity of the condition. Treatment depends upon the severity of hypothermia. If not treated early, hypothermia can lead to cardiac arrest, coma, or death.
Brain lesions (lesions on the brain) are caused by trauma, inflammation, autoimmune diseases, cancers, other diseases, stroke, bleeding, pituitary adenomas, and cerebral palsy. Symptoms of brain lesions include headache, nausea, fever, neck pain and stiffness, affected vision and speech, weakness or paralysis to one side of the body. Diagnosis of brain lesions is generally with imaging studies like CT or MRI scans. Treatment and prognosis of brain lesions depends on the cause of the lesion.
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