Oncology & Cancer

Lowering cancer drug dose could open tumors to immunotherapy

Research undertaken at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth has shown that administering anti-cancer drugs at a hundred-fold lower dose than standard protocols could improve the tumor's response to immunotherapy.

Oncology & Cancer

Researchers develop affordable, rapid blood test for brain cancer

Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have developed a novel, automated device capable of diagnosing glioblastoma, a fast-growing and incurable brain cancer, in less than an hour. The average glioblastoma patient survives ...

Neuroscience

New approach enables a closer look at microglial organelles

Microglia are the immune system's front-line enforcers in the brain. They are cells that patrol the brain and destroy anything harmful that they encounter, from invading bacteria to cellular debris. They also remove plaques ...

Medications

FDA approves drug targeting brain cancer gene mutation

A new drug for treatment of a type of brain cancer, called IDH-mutant low-grade glioma, was approved Aug. 6 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The promising new drug stems from a 2008 genetic discovery made at ...

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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 licensed under CC BY-SA