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benign tumors. Cancer cells that develop from brain tissue are called primary
brain tumors while tumors that spread from other body sites to the brain are
termed metastatic or secondary brain tumors. Statistics suggest that brain cancer
occurs infrequently and is likely to develop in about 23,000 new people per year
with about 13,000 deaths as estimated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and
American Cancer Society.
Not all brain tumors are alike, even if they arise from the same type of brain tissue.
Tumors are assigned a grade depending on how the cells in the tumor appear
microscopically. The grade also provides insight as to the cell's growth rate. NCI
lists the following grades:
Grade I: The tissue is benign. The cells look nearly like normal brain cells,
and they grow slowly.
Grade II: The tissue is malignant. The cells look less like normal cells than
do the cells in a grade I tumor.
Grade III: The malignant tissue has cells that look very different from normal
cells. The abnormal cells are actively growing and have a distinctly abnormal
appearance (anaplastic).
Grade IV: The malignant tissue has cells that look most abnormal and tend
to grow quickly.
industry workers, show higher rates of brain cancer than the general population.
Some families have several members with brain cancer, but heredity as a
cause for brain tumors has not been proven. Other risk factors such as smoking,
radiation exposure, and viral infection (HIV) have been suggested but not
proven to cause brain cancer. There is no good evidence that brain cancer is
contagious, caused by head trauma, or caused by cell phone use. Although many
lay press and web articles claim that aspartame (artificial sweetener) causes brain
cancer, the FDA maintains that it does not cause brain cancer and base their
findings on over 100 toxicological and clinical studies regarding the sweetener's
safety.
Do cell phones cause brain cancer?
There is an ongoing concern by a number of people that cell phones cause brain
cancer. Some in popular press and some web sites suggest that avoiding cell
phone use and using a macrobiotic diet will help avoid brain cancer. This situation
has been exacerbated by a recent ruling to put cell phones on a list of items that
"may" cause cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
This was done because the IARC suggested that an increase in gliomas may occur
with high use of cell phones. The IARC classified cell phones as group 2b
carcinogens; these substances are considered possibly carcinogenic, but evidence
is limited in both humans and experimental animals. The report does not say that
cell phones cause brain cancer.
Currently, many researchers are convinced there is no good evidence for these
cancer-causing claims. In December 2010, a large study of about 59,000 cell
phone users, with use times ranging over five to 10 years, indicates that no
substantial change in brain cancer incidence could be found in these individuals.
Investigators suggest that "high usage" of cell phones over long time periods is yet
to be investigated. With over 5 billion phones in use and no significant increase in
gliomas (the most frequent type of brain cancer) reported worldwide, many
investigators think that normal cell use likely causes no harm. However, for those
readers who want to minimize any electromagnetic radiation dose from cell
phones, the reader can consult the web for a list of phones that produce the
highest and lowest radiation levels (for example, In addition, the use of earphones
or the speaker function will allow usage without the phone having close proximity
to the brain.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of brain cancer?
Although there are few early signs, the most common symptoms of brain cancer
are weakness, difficulty walking, seizures, and headaches. Other common
symptoms are nausea, vomiting, blurry vision, or a change in a person's
alertness, mental capacity, memory, speech, or personality. These
symptoms can also occur in people who do not have brain cancer, and none of
these symptoms alone or in combination can predict that a person has brain
cancer. Cancer can occur in any part of the brain (for example, occipital, frontal,
parietal, or temporal lobes, brainstem, or meningeal membranes).