Nervous system cancer involves tumors in the CNS and PNS, affecting the body’s functions. Gliomas and ependymomas are common brain tumors, while retinoblastoma and neuroblastoma affect the eye and adrenal cord. Symptoms include headaches and seizures, and treatment involves surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Early diagnosis is crucial.
In the human body, the nervous system is divided into two sections: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is made up of the brain and spinal cord. The PNS makes up all other nerves connected to the spinal cord that radiate out into the body, as well as nerve cells and connective tissues. Nervous system cancer involves tumors that form in one or more parts of the nervous system. Tumors can affect the body in many ways, because the nervous system enables the body to process sensory information through chemical signaling, process thought and reasoning, move muscles through electrical signaling, provide speech, and perform many other functions bodily.
Nervous system cancer is the second type of cancer in children, after leukemia. Gliomas, which are tumors that affect the brainstem, are the most common types of cancer accounting for 45 percent of all brain tumors. Ependymomas are tumors that form in the brain cells that produce and store cerebrospinal fluid; these tumors usually form on the top or back of the head. Oncologists differentiate the various types of brain tumors based on the location of the tumor in the brain. For example, tumors that develop in the pineal section of the brain are called pineoblastomas.
Nervous system cancer could affect the eye. Cancer that affects the retina is called retinoblastoma, and cancer that affects the optic nerve is known as optic nerve glioma. Neuroblastomas are cancer cells located in nerve cells in the body’s adrenal cord or in other tissues of the nervous system such as the adrenal glands, around the spinal cord, or in the abdomen. Other types of cancer are craniopharyngioma, intracranial germ cell tumor, and astrocytoma, among others.
Diagnosing nervous system cancer may be difficult at first because cancer symptoms mimic common ailments: headache, vomiting, nausea, or drowsiness. More obvious signs of nervous system cancer include double vision, loss of memory or speech, localized weakness, severe headaches, and seizures. Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to successful recovery.
Treatments for cancer of the nervous system usually involve surgery to remove the tumors. Brain tumors are much more common than spinal cord tumors and rarely spread to other parts of the body. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy treat and control metastatic cancers from other areas of the body, such as the lung or breast, to prevent cancer cells from affecting the brain.
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