Senator John Mc'cain has a terrible Brain tumor called Primary Glioblastoma ,very difficult to treat .Glioblastoma is a malignant and aggressive brain tumor arising from Astrocytes according to the American society of brain tumors.It is located mostly in the Cerebral Hemispheres but can also be found any where in the CNS.It usually consists of the mix of cell types. plus of the size
It's cause is unclear.Some Neurologists believe it arises frm the Normal brain cells or low grade Astrocytoma
It is the 2nd most common brain tumor after Meningioma.
It's risk factors are Genetic factors such as Neurofibromatosis,Li-Fraumeni syndrome,Previous Radiotherapy .
Other may include Enviromental factors such as smoking,exposure to the radiations .
There are two types of this tumor
1-Primary
2-Secondary Glioblastoma.this is a rare type of Glioblastoma .
I will draw my attention mostly to the Primary Glioblastoma which tends to form and makes its presence quickly.It is the most common type of Glioblastoma.It is aggressive.
It's Epidemiology :
Its about 3 per 100,000 people who develop the disease a year!.
It represents about 15.4% of all primary brain tumors &about 60%-75%of all Astrocytomas.
It is most common in Male.It also increases in freq with Age.All this Epidemiological data here is obtained from the American society of brain tumors.It is most common in People with the age of 65 and above!

Signs and symptoms ;Depend on the location of the tumor,rather than on its pathological properties.The common ones include Headaches,seizures ,change in personality,memory loss and other localized Neurologic problems,Nausea.

It's prevention is unknown!

Treatment:includes the usual treatment of cancer such as Surgery ,Chemotherapy,Radiotherapy.
As I said before that it is hard to treat it bse
1- Tumors contain so many different types of cells .Some cells may respond to certain therapies while others may become resistant.
2- The Brain is susceptible to damage due to conventional therapies
3-The Blood brain barrier since it affects the Drug Absorption since most drugs lack the lipid solubility which allows the drug to penetrate the Brain cells making the treatment hard.
4-The brain has very imited capacity to repair itself.

So the 1st step in the treatment of Glioblastoma is the procedure to make a diagnosis ,relieve pressure on the brain by use of the steroids which reduce the swelling.Temozolamide is used as part of Chemotherapy!.
So the current research in Immuno therapy ,Gene therapy and other scientific work done in the Genetic Engineering at a cellular level has been studied in the Glioblastoma which has promising results.

Diagnostic methods include
1-CT scan
2-MRI scan
3-Tissue Biopsy

The most common Length of survival following the diagnosis is 12-15 months ,with fewer than 3%-5% of people surving longer than years!

REFERENCES ;American society of Brain Tumors and The wikipedia of the Glioblastoma.If any one has further knowledge to add ,it will be nice since we are here to learn and no one Can exhaust all the content alone! # Chelsea Perez