Medulloblastoma
Description:
Medulloblastoma — the malignant tumor developing from embryonic cells. It is most often diagnosed for children, however can meets also at any age. Among brain tumors at children takes the second place. It is formed, generally in a cranial pole. The medulloblastoma has pale brown color, soft density, is accurately delimited by places from brain tissue. Characteristic of a medulloblastoma is that cells of a tumor grow into surrounding healthy fabrics (infiltrative growth). Often at patients hydrocephaly develops because the tumor blocks the fourth ventricle. In 30 — 50% of cases the medulloblastoma metastasizes in a spinal cord.
There are following types of medulloblastomas:
- Medullomioblastoma containing muscle fibers.
- Melanotichesky medulloblastoma
- A lipomatous medulloblastoma (the I stage of a zlokachestvennost) — a benign tumor of a cerebellum at adults with inclusion in fabric of a tumor of lipoblasts.
Medulloblastoma symptoms:
Symptoms are various, they depend on age and a location of a tumor. The most frequent symptoms of a medulloblastoma are:
- headaches;
- nausea and vomiting;
- loss of balance and the complicated walking;
- disturbance of the letter, bradyarthria;
- slackness, drowsiness;
- decrease or increase in weight.
Diagnosis:
Diagnose a medulloblastoma by means of the computer tomography (CT) and the magnetic and resonant tomography (MRT). If there is a suspicion of a tumor, carrying out a biopsy is necessary. Very often carrying out a biopsy involves also surgery on an oncotomy. At a biopsy the cranium is opened, tumor fabric sample is taken, studied under a microscope, and if malignant cells are found, then is removed as it is possible the most part of a tumor.
Medulloblastoma
Treatment of a medulloblastoma:
Radiation therapy is applied at small (less than 20 mm) tumors, and also in cases when the tumor is in a zone of effective influence of the linear accelerator.
The program of treatment provides radiation of the center of a tumor a bunch of ionizing radiation from which cancer cells perish. On a course of treatment from 5 to 35 sessions (fractions) can be required. Thanks to the petal collimator which is built in system of the linear accelerator, radiation influences only tumor cells, without overstepping its bounds.
During courses of radiation therapy on the linear accelerator of Elekt Sinerzhi the immovability and comfort of the patient is provided with the fixing devices in the form of thermoplastic masks and vacuum mattresses. The patient does not feel any pain during the 30-minute sessions.
