What are the common diagnostic methods for glioma

In recent years, more and more patients have been diagnosed with gliomas. Many people have become interested in how to effectively diagnose gliomas. Glioma is a relatively complex disease. It is normal for some patients to not understand the complicated diagnostic process. Today we will take you to understand what are the common diagnostic methods for gliomas?

To know how to diagnose glioma, let's first understand what kind of disease glioma is:

Gliomas are tumors that occur in the neuroectoderm, so they are also called neuroectodermal tumors or neuroepithelial tumors. Tumors originate from neural interstitial cells, namely glia, ependyma, choroid plexus epithelium, and neural parenchymal cells, namely neurons. Most tumors originate from different types of glia, but based on their histological origins and similar biological characteristics, various tumors that occur in the neuroectoderm are generally called gliomas.

So what are the common methods for diagnosing glioma? Let's take a look at the following:

The most common test for diagnosing glioma is ultrasound: ultrasound can help determine the side and observe whether there is hydrocephalus. For infants, B-mode ultrasound scans can be performed through the anterior fontanelle to show tumor images and other pathological changes.

The second is the electroencephalogram (EEG) examination: On the one hand, the EEG changes of gliomas are limited to the changes in brain waves at the tumor site. On the other hand, there are general and widely distributed changes in frequency and amplitude. These are affected by the size of the tumor, infiltration, degree of cerebral edema, and increased intracranial pressure. Shallow tumors are prone to localized abnormalities, while deep tumors have fewer localized changes. In more benign astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, etc., localized delta waves are mainly manifested, and some epileptic waveforms such as spikes or sharp waves can be seen. Large glioblastoma multiforme can show widespread delta waves, which can sometimes only be determined on one side.

There is also radioisotope scanning: Tumors that grow faster and have abundant blood supply have high blood-brain barrier permeability and high isotope absorption rate. For example, glioblastoma multiforme shows isotope concentration images, and there may be low-density areas in the middle due to necrosis and cysts. It needs to be distinguished from metastatic tumors based on its shape and multiplicity.

In addition, MRI is more accurate than CT in diagnosing brain tumors, and the images are clearer, and it can detect tiny tumors that CT cannot show. Positron emission tomography can obtain images similar to CT, and can observe the growth and metabolism of tumors and distinguish benign from malignant tumors.

These are common methods for diagnosing glioma. I hope our work can help everyone, and I also hope that all glioma patients can recover soon.