Risk factors for brain tumors

• Exposure to radiation like therapeutic radiation therapy or survivors of atomic bomb
• Occupational exposures which mean some professionals tend to have a higher risk of brain tumor
• Head trauma
• Allergies: there is a relationship between allergies like asthma, eczema or other and brain tumor specifically glioma
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Infections
• Genetic factors: 1 to 5 percent of brain tumors are due to genetic syndromes

Cerebral, spinal and vertebral treatment

• Chemotherapy: this therapy is effective for some tumors like medulloblastoma and lymphoma while other types do not respond to chemotherapy
• Radiotherapy is used After surgery to try to kill any remaining tumor cells
• Surgery: which is the most important step in the treatment plan.

The Surgery

Surgery is the main treatment in brain and spine tumors because when it comes to this kind of tumors, they can be very harmful even when the tumor is benign and not malignant. The tumor takes a space in the intracranial space causing the intracranial pressure to rise which can have serious effects on the CNS system. That’s why the surgery is crucial to remove the tumor and get the intracranial pressure normal again and to remove every malignant cell in order to stop the cancer from spreading to other parts of the CNS.
Not all tumors can be removed because in some cases the tumor might be localized in a place that is hard to reach or if the patient’s overall health doesn’t qualify him to go through a surgical procedure.
The most common technique in this surgery is called Craniotomy. In this surgery the surgeon makes an opening in the skull and maybe cut into the brain to reach the tumor with the help of MRI or CT imaging.
This surgery is usually done under general anesthesia but in some cases, it is done under local anesthesia which means the patient stays awake during the operation. This is done when the brain function needs to be assessed during the operation.

Cerebral, spinal and vertebral tumors in children

An important difference between adults and children is that in children, primary CNS tumors predominate and approximately one-third to one-half are located in the posterior fossa. While in adults, metastases are the most common. And this cause different symptoms and presentation between adults and children with CNS tumors.

Prognosis in children

This depends on the tumor type and the age of the child. Pilocytic astrocytoma has the highest survival rates (the five-year survival is 97%) while atypical rhabdoid and high-grade glioma have the lowest survival rates (the five-year survival is 18%).

Drugs to help with symptoms in children with cerebral and spinal cord tumors

There are drugs that can help kids in their treatment. They do not cure the tumor but they improve the quality of the child life and relieve the symptoms whether they are due to the tumor itself or the its treatment.
These drugs like corticosteroids, anticonvulsant (anti-seizure drugs), and hormones if the pituitary gland is affected.