Healthy lifestyle, balanced diet&regular exercise may help reduce Brain Tumour risk suggests Dr Harmandeep Brar

Brain tumour affects several people across the world each year. To raise awareness about the condition and its related complications, World Brain Tumour Day is observed on the 8th of June every year. Dr (Lt Col) Harmandeep Singh Brar, Senior Consultant, Neuro Surgery, Fortis Hospital Mohali, shares valuable insight into the causes, symptoms, and treatment options.

What is brain tumour?

Brain tumour is an abnormal growth of cells in the brain or its covering (meninges). Giving information, Dr Brar, added, “Brain tumours can be either malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous). Only about one-third (27.9%) of the brain tumours are malignant. These can be classified as primary CNS tumours (originating in the brain) or secondary tumours (spread from cancers elsewhere in the body).”

 Risk factors

Genetic or hereditary: About 5-10% of the patients have a positive family history of brain tumours.

• Environmental factors: Exposure to high dose radiation significantly increases the risk of brain cancer.
• Age: Brain tumour can develop at any age, but it is more common in the fifth and sixth decade of life.
• Gender: Malignant (cancerous) tumours are more common in males and benign lesions occur more frequently are infemales.

Signs & symptoms

Stressing that the warning signs of brain tumour depended on the size, location and its type, Dr Brar, added, “The most common symptoms include recurrent and strong headaches, which is severe during the early morning hours, and is associated with vomiting. One may also experience seizures or fits, weakness or numbness in the arms or legs (paralysis), speech disturbances, vision problems, hearing problems or tinnitus, difficulty in swallowing, and imbalance while walking or experiencing vertigo.”

 Treatment options

Discussing that the diagnosis of a brain tumour depended upon the presence of clinal symptoms such as headaches or seizures, Dr Brar, said, “Other related symptoms along with neurological examinations and radiological examinations such as NCCT (Computed Tomography) of the head and a Contrast MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) of the brain could help detect the disease.”

 The spectrum of treatment options includes surgery, biopsy, craniotomy for excision of the tumour and the most advanced Neuronavigation-based surgery, which can precisely excise the tumour without damaging the normal brain tissue. Depending upon the type of tumour, chemotherapy and radiation therapy can be used alone or as an adjunct to the surgical management.

 Prevention
Stating that though brain tumours could not be prevented, Dr Brar, added, “Adoption of a healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, regular exercise, health check-ups and avoiding environmental hazards such as unnecessary radiation exposure can help in early detection and treatment.”