| Brain Tumor Awareness Month | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Official name | Brain Tumor Awareness Month |
| Observed by | Australia, Canada, UK, United States |
| Significance | Raising awareness of signs and symptoms of brain tumors, and increasing funding for treatment and prevention. [1] [2] |
| Observances | March (UK), May (Australia, Canada, United States) |
| Frequency | every year |
Brain Tumor Awareness Month or Brain Cancer Awareness Month is observed each March in the UK, and every May in Canada, Australia and the United States. [3] [4]
Brain Tumor Awareness Month began in March 2004, predominantly in the United Kingdom, and was founded by a group of brain tumor charities. [2] The United States first observed Brain Tumor Awareness Month in May 2008. [5] [6]
Gray ribbons are used to raise awareness of brain tumors including brain cancers. A one minute silence is held on 11am on the first Monday of March in the United Kingdom. [7]
Several organisations encourage people wear gray clothes for "Turn May Grey".[ sic ] [8] [1]
In the UK, Wear a Hat Day typically takes place on March 31. [9]
Fundraising walks, races and other events took place throughout the month. [10]
Glioblastoma Awareness Day began in the United States on July 17, 2019, [11] the year after politician John McCain passed away from Glioblastoma. [12]
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary tumors, which most commonly have spread from tumors located outside the brain, known as brain metastasis tumors. All types of brain tumors may produce symptoms that vary depending on the size of the tumor and the part of the brain that is involved. Where symptoms exist, they may include headaches, seizures, problems with vision, vomiting and mental changes. Other symptoms may include difficulty walking, speaking, with sensations, or unconsciousness.
A glioma is a type of tumor that starts in the glial cells of the brain or the spine. Gliomas comprise about 30 percent of all brain tumors and central nervous system tumours, and 80 percent of all malignant brain tumours.
Oligodendrogliomas are a type of glioma that are believed to originate from the oligodendrocytes of the brain or from a glial precursor cell. They occur primarily in adults but are also found in children.
Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain, and has very poor prognosis for survival. Initial signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality changes, nausea, and symptoms similar to those of a stroke. Symptoms often worsen rapidly and may progress to unconsciousness.
Astrocytoma is a type of brain tumor. Astrocytomas originate from a specific kind of star-shaped glial cell in the cerebrum called an astrocyte. This type of tumor does not usually spread outside the brain and spinal cord and it does not usually affect other organs. After glioblastomas, astrocytomas are the second most common glioma and can occur in most parts of the brain and occasionally in the spinal cord.
The orange ribbon is a symbol adopted for a very wide variety of uses in different places.
The Brain Tumour Charity is a UK-based, Charity Commission registered, charity dedicated to funding research, raising awareness of brain tumours, reducing diagnosis times and providing support and information for people with brain tumours, their families and friends.
Lomustine is an alkylating nitrosourea compound used in chemotherapy. It is closely related to semustine and is in the same family as streptozotocin. It is a highly lipid-soluble drug, thus it crosses the blood–brain barrier. This property makes it ideal for treating brain tumors, which is its primary use, although it is also used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma as a second-line option. It has also been used in veterinary practice as a treatment for cancers in cats and dogs.
Gliomatosis cerebri is a rare growth pattern of some brain tumors, impacting at least three cerebral lobes, mostly with bilateral involvement of the cerebral hemispheres. It can be seen in some types of diffuse glioma, most notably glioblastoma. It consists of infiltrative threads that spread deeply into the brain, making them very difficult to remove with surgery or treat with radiation and is associated with poor prognosis.
Gliosarcoma is a rare type of glioma, a cancer of the brain that comes from glial, or supportive, brain cells, as opposed to the neural brain cells. Gliosarcoma is a malignant cancer, and is defined as a glioblastoma consisting of gliomatous and sarcomatous components. Primary gliosarcoma (PGS) is classified as a grade IV tumor and a subtype of glioblastoma multiforme in the 2007 World Health Organization classification system (GBM). Because of a lack of specific and clear diagnostic criteria, the word "gliosarcoma" was frequently used to refer to glial tumours with mesenchymal properties, such as the ability to make collagen and reticulin.
The giant-cell glioblastoma is a histological variant of glioblastoma, presenting a prevalence of bizarre, multinucleated giant cells.
Temozolomide, sold under the brand name Temodar among others, is an anticancer medication used to treat brain tumors such as glioblastoma and anaplastic astrocytoma. It is taken by mouth or via intravenous infusion.
Neutron capture therapy (NCT) is a type of radiotherapy for treating locally invasive malignant tumors such as primary brain tumors, recurrent cancers of the head and neck region, and cutaneous and extracutaneous melanomas. It is a two-step process: first, the patient is injected with a tumor-localizing drug containing the stable isotope boron-10 (10B), which has a high propensity to capture low energy "thermal" neutrons. The neutron cross section of 10B is 1,000 times more than that of other elements, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, or oxygen, that occur in tissue. In the second step, the patient is radiated with epithermal neutrons, the sources of which in the past have been nuclear reactors and now are accelerators that produce higher energy epithermal neutrons. After losing energy as they penetrate tissue, the resultant low energy "thermal" neutrons are captured by the 10B atoms. The resulting decay reaction yields high-energy alpha particles that kill the cancer cells that have taken up enough 10B.
Alternating electric field therapy, sometimes called tumor treating fields (TTFields), is a type of electromagnetic field therapy using low-intensity, intermediate frequency electrical fields to treat cancer. TTFields disrupt cell division by disrupting dipole alignment and inducing dielectrophoresis of critical molecules and organelles during mitosis. These anti-mitotic effects lead to cell death, slowing cancer growth. A TTField-treatment device manufactured by the Israeli company Novocure is approved in the United States and Europe for the treatment of newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), and is undergoing clinical trials for several other tumor types. Despite earning regulatory approval, the efficacy of this technology remains controversial among medical experts.
Zombie Awareness Month is a campaign to bring awareness about zombies and the possibility of a future zombie apocalypse. The campaign was introduced and is predominantly funded by The Zombie Research Society (ZRS), an organization dedicated to the historic, cultural and scientific study of the living dead that was founded in 2007. According to the ZRS, the main objective of Zombie Awareness Month is to educate people about causes, prevention and preparation for a supposed future zombie pandemic.
Diffuse midline glioma, H3 K27-altered (DMG) is a fatal tumour that arises in midline structures of the brain, most commonly the brainstem, thalamus and spinal cord. When located in the pons it is also known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).
Sheila K. Singh MD, PhD, FRCSC is a chief pediatric neurosurgeon at McMaster Children's Hospital in Ontario, Canada. She is also Professor of Surgery and Biochemistry, the Division Head of Neurosurgery at Hamilton Health Sciences, the Research Director for McMaster's Division of Neurosurgery, and a scientist/principal investigator appointed to the Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute at McMaster University.
Epitopoietic Research Corporation (ERC) is a Belgian Pharmaceutical company that is specialized in the development of ERC1671, a treatment for Glioblastoma multiforme, which is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. In 2019 ERC provided treatment under the US Federal Right-to-try law.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)