Brain Cancer

Small cancer risk following CT scans in childhood and adolescence confirmed

The gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985 and efforts to reduce this gap should focus on improving physical health, suggest researchers in a paper ...

Cancer created May 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Calif. doc with 'cancer cure' gets 14 years prison (Update)

(AP)—A California doctor has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for bilking her patients out of more than $1 million by promising that an herbal supplement could cure late-stage cancer and other diseases.

Cancer created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone

If you're a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Neuroscience created May 16, 2013 | popularity 2 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New drug enhances radiation treatment for brain cancer in preclinical studies

A novel drug may help increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy for the most deadly form of brain cancer, report scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center. In mouse models of human glioblastoma ...

Cancer created May 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Australian scientists map mouse brains in greatest detail yet

(Medical Xpress)—Hopes for a cure for many brain diseases may rest on the humble mouse, now that scientists can map the rodents' brains more thoroughly than ever before.

Neuroscience created Apr 29, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genetic master controls expose cancers' Achilles' heel

In a surprising finding that helps explain fundamental behaviors of normal and diseased cells, Whitehead Institute scientists have discovered a set of powerful gene regulators dubbed "super-enhancers" that control cell state ...

Cancer created Apr 11, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gauging brain cancer survival time may get easier, study says

(HealthDay)—Life expectancy of people with aggressive brain cancer may be easier to determine with a new method under development at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, researchers say.

Cancer created Apr 10, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Insights into an abnormally edited RNA molecule may yield new weapons against a hard-to-kill cancer

Diagnosis of the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is particularly bad news for patients due to limited available medical options and poor outcomes. Even treatments that can eliminate other malignancies, ...

Cancer created Apr 10, 2013 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Indo-Canadian student gives boost to cancer treatment (Update)

A Canadian high school student has improved an ineffective experimental cancer therapy with a simple tweak—pairing it with antibiotics—earning accolades Tuesday from a panel of eminent scientists.

Cancer created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

New brain cancer treatment may be more effective, less toxic

(Medical Xpress)—A Phase 2 clinical trial testing a new protocol for treating a relatively rare form of brain cancer, primary CNS lymphoma, may change the standard of care for this disease, according to ...

Cancer created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A hijacking of healthy cellular circuits

Proteins that control cell growth are often mutated in cancer, and their aberrant signaling drives the wild proliferation of cells that gives rise to tumors. One such protein, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), ...

Cancer created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

'Extracellular vesicles' may open new opportunities for brain cancer diagnosis and treatment

The recent discovery of circulating "nano-sized extracellular vesicles" (EVs) carrying proteins and nucleic acids derived from brain tumors may lead to exciting new avenues for brain cancer diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment, ...

Surgery created Apr 08, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study demonstrates effects of mutant IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitors in primary tumor models

Agios Pharmaceuticals announced today the publication of two articles in the journal Science by Agios scientists and their collaborators demonstrating the effects of the company's small molecule isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and ...

Cancer created Apr 04, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Personalized brain mapping technique preserves function following brain tumor surgery

Neurosurgeons can visualize important pathways in the brain using an imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to better adapt brain tumor surgeries and preserve language, visual and motor function while removing ...

Neuroscience created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers discover brain cancer treatment using genetic material from bone marrow cells

In a first-of-its-kind experiment using microvesicles generated from mesenchymal bone marrow cells (MSCs) to treat cancer, neurological researchers at Henry Ford Hospital have discovered a novel approach for treatment of ...

Cancer created Apr 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


A brain tumor, or tumour, is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor (defined as an abnormal growth of cells) within the brain or the central spinal canal.

Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal. They are created by an abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, usually in the brain itself, but also in lymphatic tissue, in blood vessels, in the cranial nerves, in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary gland, or pineal gland. Within the brain itself, the involved cells may be neurons or glial cells (which include astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells, and myelin-producing Schwann cells). Brain tumors may also spread from cancers primarily located in other organs (metastatic tumors).

Any brain tumor is inherently serious and life-threatening because of its invasive and infiltrative character in the limited space of the intracranial cavity. However, brain tumors (even malignant ones) are not invariably fatal, especially lipomas which are inherently benign. Brain tumors or intracranial neoplasms can be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign); however, the definitions of malignant or benign neoplasms differs from those commonly used in other types of cancerous or non-cancerous neoplasms in the body. Its threat level depends on the combination of factors like the type of tumor, its location, its size and its state of development. Because the brain is well protected by the skull, the early detection of a brain tumor only occurs when diagnostic tools are directed at the intracranial cavity. Usually detection occurs in advanced stages when the presence of the tumor has caused unexplained symptoms.

Primary (true) brain tumors are commonly located in the posterior cranial fossa in children and in the anterior two-thirds of the cerebral hemispheres in adults, although they can affect any part of the brain.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Latest Spotlight News

Having both migraines, depression may mean smaller brain

(HealthDay)—Migraines and depression can each cause a great deal of suffering, but new research indicates the combination of the two may be linked to something else entirely—a smaller brain.

Slowing the aging process—only with antibiotics

Swiss scientists reveal the mechanism responsible for aging hidden deep within mitochondria—and dramatically slow it down in worms by administering antibiotics to the young.

Brain can be trained in compassion, study shows

Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion—the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.

Researchers complete largest genetic sequencing study of human disease

Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London have led the largest sequencing study of human disease to date, investigating the genetic basis of six autoimmune diseases.

Novel approach for influenza vaccination shows promise in early animal testing

A new approach for immunizing against influenza elicited a more potent immune response and broader protection than the currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines when tested in mice and ferrets. The vaccine ...

Enzyme-activating antibodies revealed as marker for most severe form of rheumatoid arthritis

In a series of lab experiments designed to unravel the workings of a key enzyme widely considered a possible trigger of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that in the most severe ...

Research offers promising new approach to treatment of lung cancer

Researchers have developed a new drug delivery system that allows inhalation of chemotherapeutic drugs to help treat lung cancer, and in laboratory and animal tests it appears to reduce the systemic damage ...

Study details genes that control whether tumors adapt or die when faced with p53 activating drugs

When turned on, the gene p53 turns off cancer. However, when existing drugs boost p53, only a few tumors die – the rest resist the challenge. A study published in the journal Cell Reports shows how: tumors that live even i ...

Overeating learned in infancy, study suggests

In the long run, encouraging a baby to finish the last ounce in their bottle might be doing more harm than good.

Researchers analyse hunting behaviour of fish larvae in virtual reality

Moving objects attract greater attention – a fact exploited by video screens in public spaces and animated advertising banners on the Internet. For most animal species, moving objects also play a major ...