Introduction
Glioblastomas are malignant cancers which develop in the brain from its own cells, so-called astrocytes. They are often very aggressive and fast-growing and are usually associated with a poor prognosis. This can also be seen from the fact that they are categorized in the WHO tumor classification as level IV, which is the highest level.
What is the normal course?
Most patients suffering from glioblastoma develop the disease between the ages of 50 and 65. However, children and adolescents can also be affected. Women and men are affected with approximately equal frequency.
Since the tumor grows very quickly, symptoms often occur within a very short time. These manifest themselves in many ways: seizures can occur, and patients often report headaches. In addition, changes in character, dizziness or visual disturbances are not uncommon.
Under certain circumstances, however, the tumor can also be detected without symptoms as a chance finding. Untreated, the tumor leads to death within a few weeks to months, which is why treatment is indicated as soon as possible. This usually consists of surgical removal of the diseased tissue.
This is often followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy. In general, however, a complete cure is not possible; the measures taken only serve to delay the disease and improve the patient’s quality of life. Recurrences also often occur, which must then be re-evaluated and possibly removed again.
Glioblastomas are classified as a fourth-degree astrocytoma in the classification of brain tumors. This classification says something about the prognosis. In the case of fourth-degree brain tumors, the prognosis is between a few months and a few years, depending on the tumor and the available therapy.
Glioblastoma can rarely be completely removed, as it spreads quickly and diffusely and often involves many metastases in the brain. The only therapy available so far mainly aims at symptom relief. In addition, the recurrence rate here is very high, which means that the tumor is likely to recur.