Malignant processes of the central nervous system (CNS) are not among the most widespread. More often brain cancer affects middle-aged and older people, but children are not immune to the disease either. In modern conditions, diagnosis and professional treatment in Germany make it possible to successfully cope with a pathology that used to be considered incurable.
The main problem for the post-Soviet countries remains the insufficiently widespread use and implementation of progressive, high-tech examination methods. Because of this, many cases of CNS oncology are detected in advanced stages, when treatment is very difficult. Low oncological caution of general practitioners, whose experience does not always allow them to see a tumor behind headaches, also plays its role.
The same applies to treatment: only highly specialized medical care involving high-tech and progressive methods of fighting cancer can guarantee recovery. All of this is offered by clinics in Germany, the European leader in all major economic indicators.
Diagnosis of brain cancer
The first thing that must be clarified is the nature of the process (benign or malignant). Even at this stage it is necessary to use sufficiently informative techniques, as errors in either direction will have very unfavorable consequences for the patient.
Next is the source. Tumors of the central nervous system have two origins: primary, growing from cells of cerebral structures, and secondary or metastatic. Primary in turn can grow from the cells of the brain substance or from its membranes. Finding out the source of the process is necessary in order to choose the most effective method of fighting the tumor.
During the diagnostic process, it is also important to determine the location of the nodules:
- intracerebral;
- intraventricular;
- extracerebral;
- intermediate group;
- independent group.
All details and nuances can only be established with the help of highly precise and modern methods. In Germany, which has traditionally been the technological leader in Europe, the most advanced methods are used to examine patients.
Medical consultation
Diagnosis begins with an interview and examination of the patient by a qualified physician. Based on the patient’s description or relatives’ stories, an experienced specialist can make a history of the disease — the nature of the process, the location of the tumor, the dynamics of the disease. Of significant importance is the neurological picture, the mental state of the patient. The characteristics of the optic disc are clarified during examination by an ophthalmologist.
Based on the results of the examination, an individualized follow-up plan is drawn up.
Laboratory methods
Clinical blood tests are mandatory. The next indicator is oncomarkers. According to their presence (or absence), concentration, doctors specify the aggressiveness of the tumor.
Important information is provided by analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid. In the cerebrospinal fluid, atypical cells are found, other changes are detected. If no problems are found in the cerebrospinal fluid, this is also an important diagnostic indicator.
Instrumental methods
The most informative for diagnosing neoplastic diseases. Due to the territorial concentration of diagnostic resources in German clinics, it is possible to undergo the necessary examinations within one or two days, on an outpatient basis.
The full list of procedures is quite extensive:
- electroencephalography (EEG);
- Skull X-rays;
- CT scan with contrast;
- functional magnetic resonance imaging;
- angiography of the cerebral vessels;
- ultrasound examination of cranial structures (EchoEG).
If it is suspected that the CNS lesion is secondary to metastasis, additional techniques are required — chest X-ray, positron emission tomography with CT (PET/CT) and a number of other examinations.
Biopsy
Such methods as biopsy, immunohistochemical study of tumor tissues are not as widely used in brain cancer as in other cases. The procedure requires high professionalism and very good equipment.
In German clinics, cerebral tissue biopsy is performed using stereotactic neuronavigation. Based on CT, MRI, PET-CT data, doctors make a three-dimensional model of the anatomical structure of the brain, plan and simulate the path of a thin puncture needle in advance with minimal damage to the head and bones of the skull.
The study of the biopsy specimen allows to verify the type of tumor, establish the genetic composition of the cells of the node and opens up opportunities for the application of targeted therapy.
Progressive MRI
Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT MRI) and diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) data have high diagnostic value.
This is a modification of traditional MRI that allows visualization of the location of motor roots of the brain nerves. The information is indispensable for planning any interventions on CNS organs.
The specialization of individual German clinics in brain cancer guarantees the fullest possible amount of diagnostic data. Based on the results of the examinations, a detailed map of the motor and speech centers of the individual patient is drawn up. This data allows the development of a treatment plan to begin.
And the earlier a person seeks help, the less effort and money it will take to defeat cancer. To save valuable time, you should pay attention to suspicious complaints in the head area.
Signs of brain cancer
The difficulty for early diagnosis is that the symptomatology between different types of cancer and non-cancerous diseases of the head is not particularly different.
The external manifestations that make it possible to suspect the presence of a tumor in the brain fall into three categories of symptoms:
- Cerebral. Indicates that there are problems brewing in the head. Some can only be seen on instrumental examination.
- Focal. Occurs in response to irritation or damage to specific areas of the brain.
- Dislocation. The most severe manifestations occur against the background of displacement of the cerebral substance by the tumor. For example, wedging of the brain stem into the occipital foramen.
Cerebral
The most typical ones are head pain, dizziness, and vomiting without relief (central). The cause of headache in the early stages of the disease is irritation of the receptors of the soft cerebral membranes and compression of large vessels. At first attack-like, after a while the pain becomes constant, tearing the head. It intensifies with physical exertion, coughing, at night or in the morning.
Vertigo indicates damage to the inner ear or vestibular nerves. Vomiting occurs in response to compression of the ventricles of the brain. Not preceded by nausea, often occurs at the peak of the headache and does not provide relief.
Common cerebral symptoms also include epileptic seizures, psychotic disorders.
Focal
Manifestations are very diverse, determined by the area of the head where the tumor is localized. Should be alarming:
- orientation disorder;
- goofiness and unreasonable euphoria;
- loss or perversion of the sense of smell;
- swallowing disorders;
- signs of facial nerve paresis — distorted face, different eye slits, lowered corner of the mouth, asymmetrical tongue;
- speech problems, writing problems, hallucinations;
- loss of visual field in one or both eyes.
Many more neurological and psychiatric symptoms can indicate the development of cancer in the head. Therefore, each such patient should be examined according to the algorithm described in the previous section.
Dislocation
Very serious manifestations, indicating that the process is far advanced. In the head, the pressure of liquor builds up, intracranial hernias are formed. Signs:
- sharp headache and central vomiting;
- fixed gaze upward;
- abnormal tendon reflexes;
- sweating, pallor;
- heart rate less than 50 per minute;
- seizures.
The onset of the process manifests itself through general cerebral or focal symptoms. There is a continuous progression of pathologic symptoms due to the stage of disease development.
Stages of brain cancer
The staging of malignant processes of cerebral localization is complex and multifaceted. The generally recognized system TNM is of little use here, as lymph nodes are rarely affected in advanced cases. Metastases also usually do not spread beyond the liquor and spinal cord.
Therefore, clarification of the stage is a purely individual process. Doctors manipulate the previously collected diagnostic data on the localization, size, number of nodules and features of their growth, lesions of the ventricles, gray and white matter, and much more.
Special attention is paid to the degree of malignancy. This indicator includes 4 grades, and in many respects it determines the treatment tactics for each individual patient.
Brain cancer treatment methods in Germany
As with many other forms of cancer, there are two approaches to treating CNS oncology:
- Surgical. It is considered radical, as it allows you to remove the danger, roughly speaking — to cut out the focus of the lesion.
- Conservative. Implies several variants of therapy — chemopreparations, irradiation of intracerebral foci with high-energy radiation.
Surgical approach
Radical operations, after which the patient recovers, are performed for single, clearly delineated nodules that have not resulted in damage to vital centers.
For most people, it is the surgical removal that helps in treating different types of cancer while providing tissue samples for immunohistochemical analysis.
In other cases, the decision to remove the neoplasm is made to reduce intracranial hypertension, regression of neurologic deficits and pain.
Like biopsy, brain tumor removal in German clinics is performed after building a three-dimensional model of the surgical volume and using the stereotactic neuronavigation method.
The introduction of robotic surgery offers very good prospects. After surgeries using modern techniques, the patient is discharged within 7-10 days.
Chemotherapy
This is a rather complex approach. Difficulties are related to the fact that not all chemopreparations penetrate the thin barrier between brain tissue and blood capillaries (blood-brain barrier).
We can count on success thanks to the achievements of the German pharmaceutical industry, which guarantee the maximum effectiveness of the drugs selected by the doctor.
Courses of antitumor chemotherapy, selection of drugs, frequency and number of injections are prescribed individually, according to the results of preliminary examination or after receiving an immunohistochemical report on the biopsy, removed earlier tissues.
Optimism is aroused by new drugs for immunotherapy of malignant diseases. In Germany, all effective innovations are very quickly introduced into clinical practice. Some research in this direction is being conducted at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.
Radiation therapy
Nerve cells are well resistant to ionizing radiation. Due to this feature, high-energy radiation is actively and effectively used to treat different types of brain cancer.
Not everyone has heard of cyberknife technology yet, but in Munich, Germany, such a device is in active use. With the help of digital technology and robotics, the M6 Cyberknife aims an X-ray beam in three projections. The malignant nodule receives a devastating dose of ionizing radiation, while the surrounding tissue remains intact.
How much does it cost to treat brain cancer in Germany
The price for the complete course, from diagnosis to the final stage of treatment, is always formed individually.
| Name of service | Price, € | Optional |
|---|---|---|
|
Neuro-oncologist consultation |
250 |
— |
|
Laboratory tests |
500 |
— |
|
Radical tumor removal |
25000 |
— |
|
Palliative interventions |
25000 |
— |
German doctors’ professional approach to fighting cancer ensures that no unnecessary procedures will be prescribed.
Practice shows that one of the main and costly problems for patients is choosing the right clinic. A special service organized by doctors, Russian-speaking specialists, will help with this.
The management team consists of expert doctors with a license and many years of practice in Germany. The staff will help you to choose the best clinic according to the disease profile and the patient’s wishes.
Back at home, details from accommodation to the return flight ticket are agreed upon. Importantly, the price of everything that will be required for the treatment is predicted in advance.
Specialists who have operational (and in some places, and closed) information about the current nuances of the work of this or that clinic will not allow you to make a wrong choice. This will save a lot of time, effort and finances.
In general, data on the incidence of different forms of brain cancer vary greatly from one area to another. The only thing in common is a steady upward trend in the number of such patients.
It’s a very serious pathology. Difficult to diagnose, very difficult to treat. Not every oncology clinic in the world will be able to provide effective help to patients.
This is where the highly specialized oncology centers in Germany come in. It is always convenient to have everything you need for a precise diagnosis and a complete treatment or surgery in one limited area, which reduces the overall price of the course.
You just need to contact professionals who can help you find the best option for brain cancer treatment faster.