Early clinical symptoms of glioma

Research results show that in my country, the incidence of brain glioma is increasing year by year. Due to various reasons, the presence of intracranial tumors always affects and endangers human life. So under what circumstances will this disease be suspected? Let us take a look at the early clinical symptoms of glioma.

Early patients will experience a series of symptoms such as headache, decreased vision, vomiting, etc. The course of glioma varies according to its pathological type and location. The time from the onset of symptoms to the time of consultation is generally several weeks to several months. The history of highly malignant tumors and posterior cranial fossa tumors is usually shorter, while the history of more benign tumors or tumors located in the so-called quiet area is usually longer. If the tumor has bleeding or cyst formation, the progression of symptoms can be accelerated, and some can even be similar to the development of cerebrovascular disease.

Glioma symptoms mainly include two aspects: one is increased intracranial pressure and other general symptoms, such as headache, vomiting, vision loss, diplopia, epileptic seizures and mental symptoms, etc. The other is local symptoms caused by the compression, infiltration and destruction of brain tissue by the tumor, resulting in neurological dysfunction.

Increased intracranial pressure can cause papilledema, which can lead to secondary atrophy of the optic nerve and decreased vision over time. Tumors compressing the optic nerve can cause primary optic atrophy, which can also lead to decreased vision. The abducens nerve is easily compressed and pulled, often causing paralysis and diplopia. Headaches are mostly caused by increased intracranial pressure. As the tumor grows, the intracranial pressure gradually increases, compressing and pulling on pain-sensitive structures in the skull such as blood vessels, dura mater, and certain cranial nerves, causing headaches. Most of the pain is throbbing and distending, and the location is mostly in the frontal, temporal or occipital regions. For superficial tumors in one cerebral hemisphere, the headache may be mainly on the affected side. The headache is intermittent at first, and often occurs in the early morning. As the tumor develops, the headache gradually worsens and lasts longer.

After the brain tissue is compressed, some tumor patients will have epilepsy symptoms, which may be early symptoms. Epilepsy that begins in adulthood is generally symptomatic, mostly caused by brain tumors. Those who are difficult to control with drugs or whose seizures have changed in nature should consider the presence of brain tumors. Those whose tumors are adjacent to the cortex are prone to epilepsy, while those with deep tumors are rare. Localized epilepsy has localization significance.

Local symptoms will occur according to the location of the tumor, and will progressively worsen. Especially for malignant gliomas, which grow faster, infiltrate and destroy brain tissue, and cause significant surrounding brain edema, local symptoms are more obvious and develop faster. Intraventricular tumors or tumors located in the quiet area may have no local symptoms in the early stages. Tumors in important functional areas such as the brainstem will show local symptoms in the early stages, and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure will not appear until a considerable period of time. Some tumors that develop more slowly often do not show symptoms of increased intracranial pressure until the late stages due to compensatory effects.