Brain Tumour Treatment Types
Decisions for treatment can be overwhelming for the patient and their families. It is best to discuss in detail with your doctor to create a treatment plan together as there are many factors that play a role in this decision.
Treatments for different brain tumours will depend on symptoms, location and biological aggressiveness of the tumour, the extent of possible surgical resection, and the tumour tissue pathology characteristics.
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Treatment generally consists of:
Drugs: May include Antiseizure/Antiepileptic Drugs (AEDs) and/or Steroids
Surgery: Common ones include biopsy, endoscopy and craniotomy. Now, 'Awake' craniotomies are also being performed in Pakistan. Awake brain surgery, also called awake craniotomy, is a type of procedure performed on the brain while the patient is awake and alert. Awake brain surgery is used to treat some brain (neurological) conditions, including some brain tumours or epileptic seizures.
Radiation therapy: X-rays and other forms of radiation can destroy tumour cells or delay tumour growth.
Chemotherapy: The use of drugs to kill rapidly dividing cells. It can be taken orally or intravenously.
Targeted therapy: The focus on a specific element of a cell, such as molecules or pathways required for cell growth, in order to use them as a target.
Ommaya Reservoir: (shown above) is an intraventricular catheter system that can be used for the aspiration of cerebrospinal fluid or for the delivery of drugs (e.g. chemotherapy) into the cerebrospinal fluid. It consists of a catheter in one lateral ventricle attached to a reservoir implanted under the scalp. It is used to treat brain tumors, leukemia/lymphoma or leptomeningeal disease by intrathecal drug administration. In the palliative care of terminal cancer, an Ommaya reservoir can be inserted for intracerebroventricular injection (ICV) of morphine.
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It was originally invented in 1963 by Ayub K. Ommaya, a Pakistani-American neurosurgeon.
Ommaya was also a leading expert in traumatic brain injuries and was featured in the article "The Muslims who shaped America - brain surgeons to rappers"
