What is the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumor?

For the identification of a brain tumor and an appropriate brain tumor treatment a neurological examination is required along with a brain scan and an analysis of a brain tissue. The brain tumor treatment plan may include radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy or a combination of these. Brain tumor, in most cases is named according to the location in the brain. Identifying the exact type of a brain tumor is most important to find appropriate treatment of a brain tumor. For a brain tumor diagnosis, most patients’ initial visit is with a neurologist.

A neurologist performs one or more of the following functions for the brain tumor treatment.

• CT scan
• MRI
• Neurological exam
• Physical exam

A doctor can also ask for the other tests like:

• Angiogram
• Skull x-ray
• Spinal tap
• Myelogram
• Biopsy

Brain tumor surgeons obtain brain tissue to look for brain tumor cells in the following ways:

• Needle biopsy
• Stereotactic biopsy
• Biopsy at the time of a treatment

Several other options are available for brain tumor treatment as new treatments are continuously developing. The pros and cons of each brain tumor treatment are usually discussed by the surgeon before the start of a treatment. Doctors usually use the diagnostic information to classify the type of a tumor as either malignant tumor or aggressive. Sometimes a biopsy is difficult if brain tumor is located in the brain stem or certain other areas. In this case, it would be impossible for a surgeon to remove a tumor without damaging the normal brain tissue.