What are the causes and symptoms of brain tumors?

Tumors that grow within the skull are collectively called brain tumors, including primary brain tumors that arise from the brain parenchyma and secondary brain tumors that metastasize to the skull from other parts of the body. So how do brain tumors form? What are the symptoms of a brain tumor?

Causes of brain tumors

It can be summarized into two types: internal and external. The internal ones are the constitution factors or susceptibility factors, and the external ones are the inducing factors or promoting factors, but they do not necessarily lead to the disease. Tumor molecular biology studies have shown that there are two types of genes that are closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors. One type is tumor genes and the other type is anti-tumor genes. The activation and transitional expression of anti-tumor genes induce tumor formation, and the presence and expression of anti-tumor genes help inhibit the occurrence of tumors. Tumor genes can exist in normal cells without expressing tumor characteristics. When such cells are affected by tumorigenic factors, such as viruses, chemical tumorigenesis and radiation, the tumor genes in the cells are activated, the cell phenotype changes, tumor traits are expressed, and these cells proliferate rapidly, thus forming a true tumor entity. It is currently believed that the factors that induce tumors include: genetic factors, physical factors, chemical factors and oncogenic viruses.

Symptoms of a brain tumor

In summary, they can be divided into two categories: symptoms of increased intracranial pressure and focal symptoms. The human cranial cavity is a relatively closed cavity. When a tumor grows in the brain, the growth of the tumor increases the contents of the cranial cavity, leading to symptoms caused by increased pressure in the cranial cavity, which we call symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. When people experience headaches, vomiting, and the symptoms persist or worsen in waves, they should consider the possibility of increased intracranial pressure and seek medical attention promptly. Depending on the location of brain tumor growth, it can cause some focal symptoms. Lesions in the parietal lobe can result in sensory impairment in one side of the limbs. Lesions in the occipital lobe can cause visual disturbances, such as hallucinations and visual field losses. Pituitary brain tumors often cause endocrine disorders due to the special function of the pituitary gland. Female patients often suffer from menstrual disorders, amenorrhea, and galactorrhea, while male patients often experience sexual dysfunction, hair loss, etc. Many patients with pituitary tumors also experience vision loss.