Brain cancer might not be as prevalent as breast cancer, prostate cancer, or lung cancer, but one type of brain cancer, glioblastoma, comes with a poor prognosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, even the best treatments for glioblastoma allow for survival rates of about 14 months. Glioblastoma tops the list of aggressive brain cancers, and it affects about 300,000 people worldwide every year. Just 5.6% of people over 40 survive glioblastoma after 5 years, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.
When a glioblastoma forms in the brain, symptoms quickly develop from the tumor itself or swelling in an area of the brain. People with glioblastoma could experience symptoms such as headache, fatigue, muscle weakness, personality changes, or motor coordination issues. Depending on where the glioblastoma appears in the brain, other symptoms might appear. According to a 2023 article in Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery, people tend to experience neurological or psychiatric symptoms first, followed by cardiovascular problems. More than half of people with glioblastoma will experience at least one seizure.
Symptoms of glioblastoma can be similar to other diseases
If you have some symptoms of glioblastoma, your doctor might check your balance, coordination, or reflexes to see if certain areas of your brain are affected. You might undergo an MRI or other imaging tests to locate a possible brain tumor. A biopsy might also be ordered to diagnose the cancer.
Because glioblastoma can affect different areas of the brain, it can have similar symptoms to other conditions. St. Luke’s Hospital says problems concentrating can be confused with conditions like Alzheimer’s, depression, or insomnia. Headaches are common with brain tumors such as glioblastoma, but they could be misdiagnosed with hypertension, meningitis, or sinusitis. According to a 2020 article in Optometric Education, a man complained of headaches and problems with his vision. Although he had been previously diagnosed with glaucoma and high blood pressure, further testing revealed that he had glioblastoma.
Glioblastoma can also look similar to the lesions on the brain associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a 2015 article in Frontiers in Neurology. Sometimes people with MS might also develop brain tumors, so it’s important to be aware of any symptoms not typically associated with MS.
Risk factors and treatments for glioblastoma
Although anyone can develop glioblastomas, they occur more often in men and people over 65, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. People with genetic conditions such as Lynch syndrome might have a higher risk of glioblastomas, but glioblastoma isn’t connected to family history or known risk factors. The MD Anderson Cancer Center says you might be at an increased risk for glioblastoma if you’ve previously had radiation treatments for cancers near your head.
Because glioblastoma grows so quickly, surgery is usually first in the process of treating glioblastoma to ease the brain pressure. Glioblastoma can be challenging for surgeons because the tumor often has strands that extend from the tumor. Surgery often can’t remove all of the cancer, so radiation, chemotherapy, and other treatments control the growth of any remaining tumor cells. Brain tumors such as glioblastomas can be difficult to treat because medications and some treatments have trouble crossing the blood-brain barrier.