Talk to Your Doctor About These Options
Brain tumors can be cancerous or benign. Either way, early diagnosis is best to start proper treatment. This article reviews some of the most common treatment options for brain tumors, including Ojemda, a type of kinase inhibitor. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to treatment for brain tumors as they are dependent on how severe it is, the size and location of the tumor in addition to the patient’s current level of health.
Treatment For Brain Tumors
There are many viable treatment options for brain tumors. A doctor will talk their patient through which ones would be most effective for their diagnosis.
1. Ojemda
Ojemda is a newer medication for treating brain tumors in children six months or older. It contains a compound called tovorafenib, which is a kinase inhibitor, a type of drug that blocks signalling that promote blood vessel and tumor cell formation.
It's a promising new treatment because it works by specifically targeting abnormal tumor cells without damaging the nearby healthy cells in the brain. Ojemda is specifically recommended as a treatment for brain tumors in patients with pediatric low-grade glioma (pLGG).
2. Surgery
The goal of brain surgery is to remove as much of the brain tumor as possible, which is easier or more viable with certain types of tumors. If the surgeon can only remove part of the tumor, it is referred to as a partial resection and other types of treatment will likely also be recommended.
There are two main types of brain surgery that might be performed to totally or partially remove a brain tumor: craniotomy or endoscopy. During a craniotomy part of the skull is removed so that the surgeon can gain access to the tumor. This type of surgery is the most performed for removing both cancerous and benign tumors.
In endoscopic brain surgery a long thin tube with a series of lenses is inserted into the brain that transmits pictures to the surgeon to help them access and remove the tumor. This form of surgery is most often done for pineal gland tumors.
Surgery is a risky treatment option as the side effects can include infections, damage to other parts of the brain, blood clots and bleeding.
3. Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is often used after surgery to ensure that all the tumor cells have been eliminated. It is sometimes used as the primary treatment for inoperable brain tumors. This treatment uses powerful energy beams from protons or X-rays that are designed to kill tumor cells while sparing the healthy surrounding tissues.
4. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy drugs can be administered orally or intravenously and they are designed to kill off the abnormal tumor cells, though there can be a wide range of side effects depending on the type of medication administered. Combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy and/or surgery can increase survival rates.
5. Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a cancer treatment that stimulates and strengthens your immune system to help fight off cancer cells. It's not considered a first line treatment for brain tumors, though preliminary research is promising. Some types of immunotherapy drugs include:
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors.
- Cytokines.
- Vaccines.
- Car T-Cell therapy.
6. Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapies make use of specific drugs that are designed to attack specific chemicals found in certain brain tumors. Ojemda is an example of a targeted therapy designed specifically to target pLGG with BRAF gene mutations.
Types of Brain Tumors
Treatment for brain tumors will depend on several factors, including the specific type of tumor it is. While there can be other classifications, common types of brain tumors include:
- Gliomas such as glioblastomas, oligodendrogliomas, ependymomas and astrocytomas.
- Germ cell tumors, which are often located near the pineal or pituitary gland (they're also more common in children).
- Meningiomas that grow on the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, and are often benign.
- Embryonal tumors such as medulloblastomas (they're also more common in children).
- Choroid plexus tumors located in the fluid-filled spaces in the brain.
- Pineal and pituitary tumors including pineoblastomas.
- Nerve tumors such as acoustic neuroma.
Unlike other types of cancers, brain tumors do not have stages since they don’t tend to spread elsewhere in the body. Instead, these tumors are graded from 1 to 4 based on how fast the cells are growing and how similar or dissimilar they are to the tissues and cells nearby. A low grade brain tumor would be graded as a 1 since the cells are growing slowly while a high grade tumor would be a 4 as it is growing very quickly.
Treatment for brain tumors depends on the grade, location, size and other factors such as the age and overall health of the patient. Hopefully this article has provided you with the information you need to begin understanding which treatment options might be best for you, should you need them.
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