What is brain cancer?
Brain cancer is cancer that starts in brain cells. It’s also called primary brain cancer. Secondary brain cancer or brain metastases is cancer that began elsewhere in the body and has spread to the brain.
Not all brain tumours are cancer. There are two main types of brain tumour:
- Benign brain tumours – non-cancerous tumours that grow slowly and are less likely to return after treatment (also called low-grade tumours or grade 1 and 2)
- Malignant brain tumours – cancerous tumours that grow faster than benign tumours, and are more likely to return (also called high-grade tumours or grade 3 and 4)
Just under one in three primary brain tumours are glioblastomas (grade 4 gliomas) according to Cancer Research UK. This makes them the most common brain tumour, but there are over 100 other types.
Glioblastomas can start in the brain or spine in cells called astrocytes, which support nerve cells. During diagnosis, your doctor looks at a gene called IDH to see if your cancer is aglioblastoma or an astrocytoma. This helps decide the best treatment pathway for you.
All glioblastomas are cancerous, grow quickly, and need prompt expert treatment. This page covers treatments for brain cancer. To learn more about diagnosis, brain cancer symptoms, and causes of brain cancer, please visit our brain cancer condition page.
Diagnosing brain cancer
- Neurological exam to check reflexes, sight, hearing, memory and thinking
- Brain CT scan for a 3D image of your brain
- Brain MRI scan for a detailed picture of your inner brain structure
- PET or SPECT scan to check blood flow through the brain
- Brain biopsy to look for cancer cells in a brain tissue sample
- Lumbar puncture to test brain and spinal fluid
If the tests confirm primary brain cancer, you may have more specialist tests to find out more information about the cancer such as biomarker testing. This will help your doctor decide the most suitable treatment plan for you.
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Overview of brain cancer treatment
As part of our patient-centred approach, at GenesisCare all our patients are discussed in the national multi-disciplinary meeting which brings together UK’s leading experts including Neuro-Oncologists, Neuro-surgeons, Neuro-radiologists, Medical Physicists and Neuro Clinical Nurse Specialists. This ensures tailored treatment plans and the best possible outcomes for all our patients. The main treatment options for brain cancer are surgery and radiotherapy. They can be given on their own or together. Some people may also receive systemic anti-cancer therapy such as chemotherapy.
Your treatment plan will depend on many factors, such as:
- The type, grade, and size of the cancer
- What area of the brain is affected
- If the cancer cells have changes to certain genes
- Your symptoms
- Your general health
- Your preferences
If the cancer is benign with few or no symptoms, your doctor may suggest active surveillance. This involves regular tests and scans to monitor the cancer without treatment. You won’t start treatment until it’s necessary or you decide you want to. This way, unwanted treatment-related side effects can be delayed.
If the tumour is cancerous and causes symptoms, it’s important to start treatment as soon as you can. Treatment aims to remove all or as much of the cancer as possible. It can also help you live more comfortably by slowing cancer growth and controlling symptoms.
Brain cancer treatment is different for adults and children. This page will focus on adult treatment for brain cancer.
The brain is a complex structure, which is why at GenesisCare we use several advanced imaging techniques to carefully create an effective treatment plan that protects as much healthy brain tissue as possible. They include:
- Functional MRI (fMRI) scans – a painless, non-invasive scan that maps areas of the brain important for certain physical and mental activities
- Diffusion tractography – often used together with fMRI scans to show the nerve pathways and connections between different areas in your brain
We understand the treatment process can be overwhelming at times. That’s why we’re proud to offer access to Magic Leap mixed reality viewers. They create detailed 3D images of your brain, which can help you understand your condition and treatment options in an easier way.
Radiotherapy is one of the main treatments for brain cancer at all stages. Sometimes radiotherapy for brain cancer is combined with chemotherapy, called chemoradiation.
Some reasons you may have radiotherapy include:
- If surgery is not suitable
- To reduce the risk of the cancer returning after surgery
- To treat any remaining tumours after surgery
- To help ease symptoms (called palliative radiotherapy)
Generally, treatment is once a day with a rest on the weekend. Most people have a total of 15 to 30 treatments over 3 to 6 weeks. But there are now powerful, advanced alternatives that can complete treatment in fewer sessions and aim to minimise treatment-related side effects.
At GenesisCare, we’re a specialist provider of world-class radiotherapy for brain and spinal cord tumours. All our patients with brain cancer are treated by expert teams of neuro-oncologists using the latest technologies and techniques at our centres in London and Oxford, such as the Optune Gio®, which selectively disrupts Grade 4 glioma cell division. This innovative medical device is available to eligible patients through our partnership with Novocure.
If you choose us for your radiotherapy treatment, you’ll be looked after by our dedicated multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) of experienced neuro-radiologists, neuro-oncology nurses, and neuroimaging scientists who are leading experts in their fields. They’re dedicated to making sure you receive the most suitable and effective care possible.
Side effects of radiotherapy for brain cancer
It’s normal to feel general side effects during or after your session, such as:
- Feeling tired and sick
- Headaches
- Changes in the treatment area e.g. skin irritation, hair loss, sun sensitivity
Certain side effects, such as seizures and fertility issues, depend on the part of the brain that was treated and your general health before treatment. Your doctor will help you understand what to expect after your treatment and how these effects can be managed.
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is where a small area is treated with a single dose of powerful radiation. This reduces the chance of damage to healthy brain tissue, leading to fewer treatment-related side effects. Despite its name, there is no surgery involved.
SRS is typically used for people with small tumours that are deep within the brain, but not too close to important structures. It can also be used to treat brain metastases and some small benign brain tumours.
Treatment is given using a specialist machine, such as a linear accelerator (LINAC) or a GammaKnife, which are only available at specialist centres, including GenesisCare.
At GenesisCare, we offer a comprehensive SRS service for our brain cancer patients at our state-of-the-art centres in Oxford and London. There, our experts deliver the highest standard of radiosurgery using the latest technologies to ensure precise and accurate treatment that minimise treatment-related side effects to support your recovery.
Brain radiosurgery side effects
Stereotactic radiosurgery tends to have fewer side effects than conventional radiotherapy because it treats a smaller area.
Shortly after your treatment, you may feel:
- Tired and dizzy
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Changes to your skin (redness or darkening) and hair loss at the treatment site
- Seizures (usually affect people with a history of seizures but are rare)
Most side effects are mild and others can be managed with medicine or other therapies.
Sometimes, side effects appear a long time after treatment. They’re often related to the parts of the brain that were affected by the tumour and can include short-term memory loss, vision issues, or hearing loss.
Your doctor will explain the long-term side effects associated with your specific cancer, as well as ways to manage them and reduce their impact.
Surgery is one of the main options in brain tumour treatment. The goal of surgery is to remove all or as much of the cancer as possible.
Brain cancer surgery may seem frightening, but it’s performed to a strict standard by specialist surgeons (neurosurgeons) using advanced technology at specialist hospitals.
The procedure depends on the cancer’s size and location. The most common types are:
- Craniotomy – your doctor removes a piece of the skull to take out the tumour. Then, the bone is put back over the opening and covered with skin.
- Neuroendoscopy – your doctor uses an endoscope, which enables them to remove the cancer through a small hole in your skull (also called keyhole brain surgery)
Surgery is also used to treat hydrocephalus, where excess fluid builds up and increases pressure inside the skull. Draining this excess fluid can relieve symptoms like headaches and nausea.
If you and your consultant agree surgery is best for you, we can conveniently arrange your treatment at one of our nationally renowned partner hospitals. Your procedure will be in highly trained hands with expert neurosurgeons using the latest techniques and equipment.
You’ll continue other care and treatments at your GenesisCare centre.
Side effects of surgery
You’ll usually recover at hospital for 8 to 10 days. In this time, it’s normal to have some swelling and pressure in the brain. This can be controlled with medication such as steroids.
Swelling may cause the following symptoms:
- Headaches
- Feeling weak or dizzy
- Feeling confused or tired
- Issues with balance and coordination
- Changes to behaviour or personality
- Speech problems
- Blurred vision
- Seizures
Your care team will be there to offer you medication and support to manage them.
Some people may have long-term issues even after recovering from surgery. They’re usually related to the area of the brain that was affected. They may include concentration or memory problems, mobility problems, or speech problems.
Your doctor can refer you to other healthcare professionals for support and treatment such as physiotherapists or occupational therapists.
Chemotherapy uses one or more cytotoxic (anti-cancer) drugs to treat brain cancer. You may have chemotherapy as capsules or tablets you take at home, or through a drip at the treatment centre.
You might have chemotherapy for brain cancer:
- On its own as a main treatment
- At the same time as radiotherapy (chemoradiotherapy)
- After radiotherapy or surgery (adjuvant treatment)
- To control cancer growth and ease symptoms as a palliative treatment
- If the brain tumour has returned
Most people have chemotherapy in cycles with rest periods between sessions. The cycle length depends on the chemotherapy drug, the tumour type, and any other treatments you’re having.
At GenesisCare, we offer our patients with brain cancer the most recent evidence-based brain cancer treatment drugs available, including chemotherapy.
Highly trained oncology pharmacists and nurses will oversee your treatment at one of our prestigious Macmillan-accredited centres. Our centres are equipped with smart infusion devices and private chemotherapy suites to create a warm and relaxing environment for you during treatment.
Our compassionate chemotherapy nurses are on-call 24/7 to help you with anything you might need before, during, and after your sessions.
Side effects of chemotherapy
Reactions to chemotherapy vary. They depend on the chemotherapy drug you’re taking, the dose, and your general wellbeing before starting treatment. Your doctor will explain the benefits, risks, and side effects of your treatment plan in advance.
Common side effects are:
- Feeling tired and low energy
- Increased risk of infection
- Changes to skin and nails
- Hair loss
- Feeling and being sick
- Constipation or diarrhoea
If you have your chemotherapy at GenesisCare, we offer additional therapies proven to help, and even prevent some treatment-related side effects. Once you and your consultant agree on chemotherapy, you’ll have access to:
- Hilotherm ChemoCare – reduces nerve damage to hands and feet using special cooling cuffs to slow blood flow before, during, and after treatment
- Paxman scalp cooling – reduces hair loss using a cooling cap to help reduce blood flow to hair follicles during treatment
- Wellbeing services – our unique partnership with Penny Brohn UK offers wellness and emotional support through exercise medicine, counselling, and more
Find out more about the ways we support our patients through their chemotherapy.
Targeted therapy uses medicines that work against specific genes or processes cancer cells need to survive and grow.
A doctor will use specialist tests to look for any changes in cancer cells, such as biomarker testing or genomic testing. As healthy cells do not have these traits, they’re protected from the drugs’ effects.
Currently, targeted therapy for brain cancer is available through clinical trials or exceptionally where specialist tests have shown a target for treatment.
At GenesisCare, we continue to invest in research to find new brain cancer treatments. Your consultant can tell you about clinical trials currently running.
Side effects of targeted therapy
The side effects you may feel depend on which targeted therapy you’re taking. The treatment dose, length, and any other treatments you’re having will also have an effect.
Common side effects include:
- Feeling tired and weak
- Nausea and vomiting
- An increased risk of infection
- Bruising and bleeding more easily
- Changes to your appetite and sense of taste
- Headaches and dizziness
These side effects are temporary and should pass once you finish your treatment. Your doctor can help reduce their impact on you with other medication and therapies.
Rarely, targeted therapy drugs for brain cancer can affect the lungs. This can be serious, and needs to be treated quickly. If you notice a change in your breathing or chest, talk to your doctor immediately.
Enquire now
If you’d like to hear more about our radiotherapy treatments or other services we provide, speak with one of our friendly team members today.
Brain cancer treatment at GenesisCare
At GenesisCare, we believe everyone deserves exceptional cancer care. Our teams of leading experts provide a wide range of services for all stages of brain cancer from diagnosis through to treatment and beyond. We use proven tests, drugs, and technologies in your personalised treatment plan to give you the best possible care.
With our integrative approach to cancer care, excellent treatment goes beyond the treatment room. Our aim is to help you with all aspects concerning your body and health, including your lifestyle and emotional wellbeing.
Your dedicated team of clinicians and specialists will help you manage your physical health with tailored exercise medicine proven to work alongside your clinical treatments. Your emotional health is just as important, which is why we offer additional wellbeing sessions through our partnership with the national charity Penny Brohn UK – at no extra cost.
Make an enquiry
If you would like to find out more, please contact us today. We are always happy to answer any questions and concerns you may have.
FAQs about brain cancer treatment
Survival rates depend on many factors including the type and grade of brain cancer, if there are genetic changes, the size and position of the tumour, and your overall health.
Your doctor is the best person to speak to about outlook. They can give you a better idea of what to expect based on your individual circumstances.
Like all cancers, brain cancer cannot always be cured. There are now modern treatments for brain tumours that can help control cancer growth and manage symptoms. While it might not cure the cancer, it can control the cancer enough to help people live more comfortably and sometimes, for longer.
If your doctor thinks you have brain cancer, they may perform some tests and scans to check your brain function. They may also refer you to a specialist for further testing.
Some of the tests you can expect are:
- A neurological exam to test your reflexes, senses, and cognitive function
- Imaging scans such as an MRI scan, a PET scan, or a SPECT scan
For more information on diagnosing brain cancer, see our brain cancer condition page.
Brain cancer starts when a genetic mutation happens in a brain cell. This makes it divide uncontrollably, which forms a tumour. Like many cancers, it’s difficult to say why this happens.
Current research shows some rare genetic conditions can cause brain tumours that are non-cancerous (benign tumours). They include Li-Fraumeni syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and Turner syndrome.
Read more about causes of brain cancer on our brain cancer condition page.
Signs of brain cancer appear when the tumour grows large enough to cause pressure in the skull. Symptoms depend on the area of the brain the tumour is in.
The pressure may cause headaches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and changes to your eyesight, hearing, and speech. Some people may also develop seizures.
For more information about signs of brain cancer, please visit our brain cancer condition page.
