Glioma Symptoms

Written by Gao Yi Shen
Neurosurgery
Updated on September 14, 2024
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The symptoms of glioma are numerous, and it is essential to make judgments based on the situation. The most common clinical manifestations are headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. These symptoms may persist for a relatively long period and are relatively mild, not immediately noticeable at the time. Additionally, some patients may experience a decline in cognitive function, colloquially described as becoming less intelligent. This is especially common in gliomas of the frontal lobe. If the glioma is located in the occipital lobe, it often causes visual disturbances, such as blurred vision and visual field defects. In cases of temporal lobe gliomas, frequent seizures and impaired limb mobility may occur. For cerebellar gliomas, symptoms can include a decline in cognitive function and ataxia, among others.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
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Is glioma a terminal illness?

Glioblastoma is not an incurable disease. Patients with glioblastoma have a type of malignant tumor that tends to grow rapidly. These tumors often adhere to surrounding brain tissue in the early stages, making complete surgical removal difficult. If any glioma cells remain after surgery, the tumor tissue will gradually grow over time. Thus, patients with glioblastoma are prone to recurrence, but it is not an incurable disease. If early detection and surgical removal can be achieved, and supplemented by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, it can maximize the therapeutic effects of the surgery, thereby effectively improving the prognosis and delaying the progression of the disease. This approach can relatively extend the patient's lifespan, and some patients may even achieve long-term survival.

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Early symptoms of glioma

For patients with glioma, in the early stages of the disease, symptoms often manifest as mild headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. The symptoms are usually mild and tolerable for patients, and most patients do not pay enough attention, which can easily lead to missed and misdiagnosis. However, as the tumor volume increases, the patient's symptoms of headache, dizziness, and other discomforts gradually worsen, and may even show episodic outbreaks and a persistent worsening state. In addition to headaches and dizziness, some patients also exhibit significant motor dysfunction, exhibiting symptoms such as hemiplegia and aphasia. Patients with severe conditions may even experience widespread intracranial pressure increase, and life-threatening conditions due to the induction of brain herniation.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Glioma Symptoms

For patients with glioma, they often exhibit certain degrees of headache and dizziness, with headaches typically located bilaterally in the frontal or temporal regions. The nature of the pain is relatively sharp, manifesting as intermittent attacks that progressively worsen over time. Long-standing gliomas easily induce a notable increase in intracranial pressure, presenting with severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, and even a decrease in vision or visual field defects. When the glioma is located in the parietal lobe and affects important motor function areas, it can lead to unilateral or bilateral limb weakness, numbness, pain, and possibly even trigger hemiplegia.

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Written by Jiang Fang Shuai
Neurosurgery
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How is glioma graded?

According to the characteristics of pathology, gliomas are divided into grades one to four. Grade one is a low-grade malignancy, more benign tumor, accounting for about 5%, with a relatively high probability of successful surgical outcomes. Grade two accounts for about 35%, and after comprehensive treatment including surgery, the survival rate can reach five to ten years, or even longer. Grade three usually develops from grade two, with relatively poor prognosis, and the average survival period is about two years. Grade four, the most malignant glioma, also known as glioblastoma, accounts for about 30%-40%, with an average survival period of less than one year, and very poor outcomes.

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
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Treatment of brain glioma

For patients with brain gliomas, it is recommended that they visit a local hospital as soon as possible in the early stages of the disease. A physician with extensive surgical experience should help assess the current situation through cranial CT, cranial MRI, and enhanced cranial MRI scans, to determine the location, scope, and range of edema of the glioma, as well as its proximity to surrounding blood vessels and nerves, and to establish a personalized surgical treatment plan. Through surgery, the glioma in the brain should be removed as completely as possible. After surgical treatment, most patients can achieve satisfactory outcomes. However, since gliomas are malignant tumors, it is necessary to follow up surgery with early radiation and chemotherapy treatments.