No, and this is one of the most important clarifications I make in almost every initial consultation at Apex Hospital or Gudage Hospital in Bidar, because the fear that a brain tumour means cancer and imminent death is so widespread that it prevents many patients from seeking evaluation early, when their condition is most treatable. A brain tumour means there is an abnormal growth of cells within or adjacent to the brain. It does not mean that growth is malignant, invasive, or terminal. Many of the most common brain tumours are benign: meningiomas, which are the most common primary intracranial tumours, arise from the membranes covering the brain and are benign in the great majority of cases. Pituitary adenomas are benign tumours of the pituitary gland. Acoustic neuromas are benign tumours of the nerve carrying sound signals from the ear to the brain. These tumours do not invade the surrounding brain tissue and do not spread to other parts of the body. They can still cause serious symptoms by virtue of their location, because even a benign tumour pressing on the visual pathway, the motor cortex, or the brainstem will produce neurological deficits, but their prognosis after appropriate treatment is fundamentally different from that of a malignant glioblastoma. Even within malignant brain tumours, the range of prognosis is wide. A grade 2 low-grade glioma with an IDH mutation in a young patient carries a prognosis measured in years to decades. A grade 4 glioblastoma without favourable molecular markers carries a much more sobering prognosis. The specific type, grade, molecular markers, location, and extent of resection all determine the individual prognosis, which is why detailed evaluation by a neurosurgeon experienced in the full range of intracranial tumour types is the essential first step.
Written by Dr. Prashanth Alle, MBBS, ECFMG (USA), DNB (Neurosurgery, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Bengaluru), Consultant Neurosurgeon, Apex Hospital, Bidar (Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, +91 9036360396) and Gudage Hospital, Bidar (Monday to Saturday, 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, +91 84822 26841). 18,200+ patients. Phone: +91 9632384477.
