Stage 4 Brain Cancer Prognosis

Chemicals, radiation, and infection can be some of the primary causes of cancer, carcinogens in tobacco are known to cause lung cancer. Human polyomaviruses are known to be responsible for malignant brain tumors. Malignant tumors are characterized by uncontrolled growth, destruction of tissue, and spread to other areas. Such tumors are termed as cancerous and, if left untreated, can be fatal.

Prognosis of cancer depends on many factors, and the most important is treatment. Certain type of brain cancer, if untreated, can lead to death within 2-3 months of diagnosis. Early diagnosis is also important for an effective treatment. If you are diagnosed at a later stage, then the treatment options will be limited.

Oncologist believe that surgery is one of the best options to treat brain cancer, on condition that it is detected at an early stage. Stage I cancer has limited cell overgrowth and it can be easily treated surgically, with minimum chances of recurrence.

One of the methods of treating cancer is radiation therapy, with this treatment Stage 4 brain cancer survival rates have improved in the affected people. This therapy kills the cancerous cells as well as normal cells, but the normal cells repair themselves, whereas the cancer cells can't.

A line of defense against cancer is chemotherapy. Under this treatment plan, the affected people are given medicines designed to kill tumor cells. When it comes to the prognosis, chemotherapy works in only about 20 percent of the affected people.

Prognosis of this medical condition depends on the type of tumor and the age of the affected person, because these two factors also play a part in the treatment process. In case of children, chemotherapy is used instead of radiation, to protect their developing brains from damage caused by radiation.

Medulloblastoma is a type of cancer which can be treated efficaciously with surgical resection, which is removal of the affected part of the brain. Life expectancy in the affected people with this type is considerably better than people with other types of cancer. With extensive cancer treatment, people are expected to be free of any problems within 5 years of the treatment. With a survival rate of 80-90 percent, medulloblastoma has the highest rate of survival amongst all the other types of brain cancer.

One of the severe forms of brain cancer is glioblastoma multiforme which, if untreated, has a survival rate of 2-3 months. Even after a surgical resection and radiotherapy, the survival rate is 12-18 months. It is one of the most prevalent forms of brain tumors in adults. The prognosis for the affected people under the age of 40, is however, little better with some surviving up to 5 years.

Oligodendroglioma is one of the slowest progressing malignant brain tumors, which is the main reason behind good survival rates. People diagnosed with this type can expect to live up to 16-18 years with treatment.

Stage 4 brain cancer prognosis in infants is worst with the 5-year survival rate being lower than 30 percent. However, brain cancer has low prevalence, it contributes to only 1-3 percent of all the cancer forms, each year nearly 19,000 people are diagnosed with brain cancer. Nearly 33 percent of people diagnosed with the same live more than 5 years.

Disclaimer: This HealthHearty article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.