Brain Tumors and Stroke Risk
Although rare, the relationship between stroke and brain cancer is serious.
One of the complications of brain cancer is bleeding from the brain. Bleeding that can lead to an ischemic stroke (called an intracranial hemorrhage) is a rare condition. but it can occur in people over the age of 60 who have some form of brain cancer or who have had radiation damage to the head or neck.1
SYMPTOMS:
The symptoms of a stroke caused by an intracranial hemorrhage are different from those of a normal stroke. Most strokes, known as ischemic strokes, occur suddenly when blood vessels in the brain are blocked.
This is because brain tumors grow slowly. Stroke symptoms can occur over days, weeks, or months rather than hours or minutes. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures, causing a stroke. Common symptoms of ischemic stroke include;
- Severe headache
- Weakness on one side of the body
- Paralysis or pain in any part of the body
- cannot be tolerated
- unintelligible spoken language
- Difficulty reading or writing
- changes in vision or loss of vision
- seizures
The amount of bleeding and the location of the bleeding will also determine whether the condition is mild or severe.
Studies have shown that those who have had a stroke due to a brain tumor have an increased risk of having another stroke before the age of 1 year.
cause:
There are two types of brain tumors. One of them can cause bleeding:
- The primitive brain stem begins with brain tissue. Examples are pituitary tumors. glioma tumors (often fast-growing) and meningococcal meningitis meningiomas (usually fast-growing and benign).
- Metastatic brain tumors start in one part of the body (such as the lungs, chest, or kidneys) and spread to other parts of the body.
- Bleeding from a primary brain tumor is rare. The tendency of brain tumors to bleed depends on the type of tumor, for example, meningiomas (growths in the skin around the brain and spinal cord) rarely cause bleeding.
Although brain metastases from lung cancer or breast cancer are more likely to have bleeding. But patients with skin cancer tend to bleed more. Studies have shown that up to 50% of intracranial bleeding due to metastasis is associated with melanoma.
In contrast, gliomas (which develop into sticky cells around nerve cells) bleed. This is partly because it grows so quickly. The pituitary gland also grows rapidly.
A 2017 study in the journal Stroke found that 72% of strokes caused by brain tumors are due to gliomas. In the past, radiation to the head and neck was also a major risk factor. accounts for at least 71% of total cases
Results of the study
Bleeding from brain cancer is usually detected on a computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain, and the bleeding area usually appears as a bright white area. It is not visible in the gray of normal brain tissue and in addition, there are often dark areas around the blood in the brain that indicate inflammation in the brain.
Many brain injuries, including strokes and brain tumors, can cause inflammation. The nature and size of the swelling can help your doctor diagnose bleeding from a brain tumor or other condition (such as a head injury).
If brain involvement is suspected, the next test is to order a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and inject a special substance called gadolinium. Gadolinium helps detect areas of the brain, blood, and cancer tissue.
It is not uncommon for intracranial bleeding from a glioma to be mistaken for a blood pressure problem. If a specific MRI is not ordered, the glioma will disappear completely and continue to grow uncontrollably
The treatment offered:
Treatment for intracranial bleeding depends on the symptoms and the amount of bleeding. Treatment is usually to remove the blood and tumor at the same time. However, if the bleeding is mild and the symptoms are mild, surgery may not be necessary.
If it is safe to delay surgery, additional tests will be performed to determine the location of the brain tumor and whether it is primary or metastatic. Your oncologist can decide what other cancer treatments are needed, such as radiation and antibiotics.
In general, the prognosis is not good if a stroke is accompanied by a brain tumor. While 85% of people are disease-free for a year, most people relapse before the second year. Overall, median survival was 11.7 months
However, if small strokes and cancers are detected early, survival can be extended by up to five years.
CONSULTATION WITH DOCTOR:
If you or a loved one has brain cancer due to a tumor, you will need to be closely monitored by a medical team, including oncologists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons. While the recovery process can be physically and mentally slow and exhausting, you can get through it with the support of your loved ones and medical team.
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