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Brain tumor

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A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of cells within the brain or inside the skull, which can be cancerous or non-cancerous (benign).

It is defined as any intracranial tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the brain itself (neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin-producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or spread from cancers primarily located in other organs (metastatic tumors).

Primary (true) brain tumors are commonly located in the posterior cranial fossa in children and in the anterior two-thirds of the cerebral hemispheres in adults, although they can affect any part of the brain.

In the United States in the year 2005, it was estimated there were 43,800 new cases of brain tumors (Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States, Primary Brain Tumors in the United States, Statistical Report, 2005–2006), which accounted for 1.4 percent of all cancers, 2.4 percent of all cancer deaths, and 20–25 percent of pediatric cancers. Ultimately, it is estimated there are 13,000 deaths per year in the United States alone as a result of brain tumors.

For more information about Brain tumor, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with brain tumors

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A woman dials a cell phone in her car

WHO study suggests link between cell phones and tumors

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Oct 27, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (23) | comments 17

(PhysOrg.com) -- Preliminary results of an International investigation by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest there may be a "significantly increased risk" of some types of brain tumors after use of ...


Bias affects cell phone cancer risk findings

Bias affects cell phone cancer risk findings

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Oct 15, 2009 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (10) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of South Korean and American researchers has found studies of possible links between cell phones and brain tumors and other cancers vary in quality, and those suggesting there is little ...


Variations in 5 genes raise risk for most common brain tumors

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Jul 05, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Common genetic variations spread across five genes raise a person's risk of developing the most frequent type of brain tumor, an international research team reports online in Nature Genetics.


Studies spot numerous undiscovered gene alterations in pancreatic and brain cancers

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Sep 04, 2008 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (11) | comments 0

HHMI investigators have detected a multitude of broken, missing, and overactive genes in pancreatic and brain tumors, in the most detailed genetic survey yet of any human tumor. Some of these genetic changes were previously ...


Scientists discover 2 genes that drive aggressive brain cancers

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

A team of Columbia scientists have discovered two genes that, when simultaneously activated, are responsible for the most aggressive forms of human brain cancer.


Discovery makes brain tumor cells more responsive to radiation

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Duke University Medical Center researchers have figured out how stem cells in the malignant brain cancer glioma may be better able to resist radiation therapy. And using a drug to block a particular signaling pathway in these ...


Stem cells alleviate tumor treatment side effects

Stem cells alleviate tumor treatment side effects

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Human embryonic stem cells could help people with learning and memory deficits after radiation treatment for brain tumors, suggests a new UC Irvine study.


Anticancer compound found in American mayapple

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Sep 04, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

A common weed called American mayapple may soon offer an alternative to an Asian cousin that's been harvested almost to extinction because of its anti-cancer properties. The near-extinct Asian plant, Podophyllyum emodi, produc ...


Tokyo hospital to test viral therapy for tumors

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Aug 16, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Tokyo University Hospital will begin a clinical test in late August of a viral therapy in which viruses are injected directly into brain tumor patients, according to hospital officials.


Decoding leukemia patient genome leads scientists to mutations in other patients

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Aug 05, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Decoding the complete DNA of cancer patients is giving scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis a clearer picture of the complexity of the disease and allowing them to see intriguing and unexpected ...


Nanoparticles cross blood-brain barrier to enable 'brain tumor painting'

Nanoparticles cross blood-brain barrier to enable 'brain tumor painting'

Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine

created Aug 03, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (9) | comments 0

Brain cancer is among the deadliest of cancers. It's also one of the hardest to treat. Imaging results are often imprecise because brain cancers are extremely invasive. Surgeons must saw through the skull ...


Study: 7 key genes predict brain cancer survival

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Jul 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

(AP) -- Scientists have found seven key genes in the type of brain tumor affecting Sen. Edward Kennedy that together can predict how aggressive a patient's cancer will be.


Breakthrough in 3-D Brain Mapping Enables Removal of Fist-Sized Tumor

Breakthrough in 3-D Brain Mapping Enables Removal of Fist-Sized Tumor

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jul 14, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new technology involving the fusion of four different types of images into a 3-D map of a patient's brain has helped University of Cincinnati (UC) specialists successfully remove a fist-sized ...


Researchers find possible way to block the spread of deadly brain tumors

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Apr 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) may have found a way to stop the often-rapid spread of deadly brain tumors.


Reversing effects of altered enzyme may fight brain tumor growth

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Apr 14, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

An international team of scientists from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, the University of North Carolina and several institutions in China have explained how a gene alteration can lead ...