Risk Factors and Causes of Brain Tumour: What You Need to Know - Dr Audumbar Netalkar

A brain tumour is a growth of cells in the brain or near it. Brain tumours can happen in the brain tissue or outside it, compressing the brain. Nearby locations from where brain tumour can arise include nerves, pituitary gland, pineal gland, and the membranes that cover the surface of the brain.

Brain tumours which begin in the brain are called primary brain tumours. Cancer can occasionally move from other regions of the body to the brain. These tumours are referred to as metastatic or secondary brain tumours.

Primary brain tumours are either cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign). Brain cancers grow quickly to invade and destroy the brain tissue.

Causes of Brain Tumours                                  

In most cases are brain tumours, causes cannot be found. In many others, they happen when cells in or near the brain get changes in their DNA. A cell's DNA holds the instructions that tell the cell what to do.

When healthy cells would naturally perish as part of their life cycle, the alterations instruct the cells to proliferate rapidly and survive. The brain produces a large number of additional cells as a result. A development known as a tumour may develop from the cells.

The cause of the DNA alterations that result in brain tumours is unknown. The aetiology of the majority of brain tumours is never identified. Children can occasionally inherit DNA alterations from their parents. The alterations may raise the chance of developing a brain tumour. These hereditary brain tumours are rare.

Risk factors

In most people with primary brain tumours, the cause isn't clear. But doctors have identified some factors that may raise the risk.

Risk factors include:

• Age:

Although they can occur at any age, brain tumours most frequently affect elderly persons. Adults are typically affected by certain brain tumours.

Children are more commonly affected by certain types of brain tumours. Glioblastomas happen in adults from 45 years onwards, whereas Medulloblastomas occur in children. Both are cancerous tumours.

• Race:

Anyone can get a brain tumour. But malignant gliomas are more common in white people, whereas benign Meningiomas are more common in black people.

• Exposure to radiation:

People who have been exposed to a strong radiation have an increased risk of brain tumours. This strong radiation is called ionizing radiation, which cause DNA changes in the body's cells.

These changes can lead to tumours and cancers. Examples of ionizing radiation include radiation therapy used to treat cancers and radiation exposure caused by atomic bombs.

Radio waves and the energy from telephones are examples of low levels of radiation. There is no solid proof that brain tumours are caused by mobile use. However, further research is undoubtedly required.

• Inherited syndromes that increase the risk of brain tumour:

Some DNA changes that increase the risk of brain tumour run in families. Examples include the DNA changes that cause Neurofibromatosis 1 and 2, Tuberous Sclerosis, Lynch syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Von Hippel-Lindau disease, familial adenomatous polyposis, Cowden syndrome, and Gorlin syndrome.

• Other Factors:

Environmental factors such as exposure to vinyl chloride (a chemical used to manufacture plastics), petroleum products, and certain other chemicals have been linked to an increased risk of brain tumours in some studies but not in others.

Although exposure to electromagnetic fields from power lines and transformers, aspartame (a sugar replacement), and certain viruses have been proposed as potential risk factors, the majority of researchers concur that there is insufficient evidence to connect these factors to brain tumours. These and other potential risk factors are still being studied.

• Having a weakened immune system:

Individuals with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to brain or spinal cord lymphomas. Cancers of lymphocytes, a subset of white blood cells that combat illness, are known as lymphomas.

Congenital (existing from birth) or brought on by different cancer treatments, organ transplant rejection prevention medications, or illnesses like acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) can all result in a compromised immune system.

Prevention

There's no way to prevent brain tumours. If you get a brain tumour, you didn't do anything to cause it, except for metastasic spread from lung cancer caused by smoking or spread from mouth cancers caused by chewing tobacco.

Individuals who are at a higher risk of developing a brain tumour may want to think about getting screened. Screening does not prevent brain tumours. However, it may aid in the detection of a brain tumour when it is small, increasing the likelihood of early treatment.

If you have a family history of brain tumour or inherited syndromes that increase the risk of brain tumour, you should consider meeting with a genetic counsellor. They can help you understand your risk and ways to manage it.