6 signs of brain cancer in the elderly

Brain cancer refers to malignant tumors that occur in the neuroepithelium. It is the most common type of brain cancer, accounting for about 40% to 50% of all brain tumors. According to the differentiation of tumor cells, it can be divided into astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, medulloblastoma, ependymoma, colloid cyst, glioblastoma multiforme, etc. Due to physiological and pathological changes in the nervous system and poor response to the disease, the clinical manifestations of brain cancer in the elderly are different from those in young people.

When elderly people have any of the following signs, it may be a sign of brain cancer. They should be highly alert to the presence of brain cancer and go to the hospital for treatment in time:

① The elderly suddenly experience intellectual changes or mental symptoms suddenly worsen;

② Slowly progressive hemiplegia, especially when symptoms do not improve after 2 weeks of symptomatic treatment but continue to worsen;

③ When an elderly person with no history of epilepsy suddenly develops epilepsy, the first thing to consider is a brain disease. According to statistics, the incidence of epilepsy in elderly patients with brain cancer is as high as 30% to 50%, while the incidence of benign brain diseases combined with epilepsy is only about 12%;

④ For elderly patients with malignant tumors, especially lung cancer patients, once they develop symptoms of brain damage, metastatic brain cancer should be considered first;

⑤ Elderly people with no history of hypertension who have persistent or slowly worsening headaches, especially those with projectile vomiting, should be considered for brain cancer, because headaches caused by other chronic cerebrovascular diseases are usually not severe and do not progressively worsen.

⑥ Repeated subarachnoid hemorrhage in a short period of time, accompanied by worsening hemiplegia with each attack, often indicates the presence of brain glioma bleeding.