Tumors: Benign vs. Malignant

Let's just cut to the chase. A glioma is an incredibly serious brain tumor diagnosis. Sure, you're probably thinking, "When isn't a tumor diagnosis serious?" In fact, it is possible to have a tumor diagnosis elsewhere on the body without having an immediate cause for alarm. In such a case this may mean that the tumor is considered to be benign. What does benign mean? Let's take a step back for a moment to define a few terms.

A tumor is defined as an abnormal growth of body tissue and is further categorized as being either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). This abnormal growth occurs when there is a problem with the normal process of new cell formation and cell death. Normally cells die after their appropriate life span and new cells replace them. Unfortunately, sometimes this process does not go as planned. New cells begin to form when they are not needed or cells do not die when they should. This buildup of cells is what defines the abnormal growth of body tissue. As an example, finding a benign tumor in breast tissue would be less worrisome than finding a malignant tumor in the same area. This is true for most parts of the body except in cases where the tumor grows in or around a vital organ. In the case of gliomas, we are specifically referring to the brain.

Keeping that in mind, let’s distinguish one more thing related to tumors: Benign tumors are considered to be slow growing and do not usually invade surrounding tissue making their surgical removal much easier. Whereas, malignant tumors are fast growing and are more invasive making it harder to remove tumor completely during surgery. So if the brain starts forming new cells although they are not needed and a BENIGN tumor develops, everything will be hunky dory, right? Wrong. Benign brain tumors can be considered malignant depending on their location in the brain. That being said, ANY tumor in the brain (benign or malignant) is going to cause problems and will not be considered “easier” to remove during surgery.

Now that we have a basic understanding of tumors, let’s define what it means to have a glioma. These kinds of tumors are considered to be primary brain tumors which means that they originate within the brain. Specifically, these tumors are formed from glial cells in the brain (the "gli-" portion of the term; "-oma" translates to "tumor"). It is rare for malignant primary brain tumors to spread to other parts of the body but the brain damage that can result is overwhelming.

There is a long list of symptoms that may be caused by the tumor or may result from the removal of the tumor some of them are: headache, nausea/vomiting, speech problems, vision loss, seizures, memory loss, mood or personality changes, hearing loss, and problems with balance and coordination. Initial treatment may include removal of the glioma with surgery (craniotomy). Another option or to continue treatment, depending on the location of the tumor, a patient may undergo radiation or chemotherapy treatments if the glioma was found to be malignant. These problems will most likely also involve rehabilitation therapies like physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy depending on the degree of disability as a result of the tumor.