2023-07-20 05:00:46
Brain cancer is a complex and mysterious disease. Although we don’t know exactly what causes brain cancer, some risk factors have been identified. It is important to understand these factors to better prevent and detect the disease. Here we will explore the different causes and risks associated with brain cancer.
Known risk factors
Risk factors are elements that may be associated with the development of a disease, but do not necessarily cause it. It is essential to understand that the presence of a risk factor does not necessarily mean that one will develop brain cancer.. Similarly, many people with this condition have no known risk factors. Most of the time, brain cancer is caused by a combination of factors, what are called “multifactorial” causes.
There are modifiable risk factors, that is, steps one can take to reduce risk, and others that cannot be changed, such as age. It is important to know these factors in order to be able to make the necessary changes, but knowledge of risk factors should not be used to judge people with brain cancer. No one deserves to develop this disease, regardless of their habits or practices.
Risk factors may vary depending on the specific type of brain cancer, such as glioma, meningioma, astrocytoma, medulloblastoma, etc.
Here are some of the most common risk factors:
Age
Brain cancer most often occurs in children and older people, although it can develop at any age.
sex
In general, brain cancer is more common in people assigned as male than in those assigned as female (about 70% more). However, certain types of brain tumors, such as meningiomas, are more common in those assigned female sex.
Ethnicity/socio-economic status
Worldwide, the incidence of brain tumors is higher in Northern Europe than in Japan. People with parents born in Sweden, in particular, have about a 21% higher chance of developing brain cancer. Additionally, children born to mothers with a high level of education have been found to have a slightly increased risk.
Lradiation exposure
Radiation exposure, whether diagnostic (such as a CT scan or X-ray of the head), therapeutic (such as radiation therapy to the head to treat leukaemia) or related to atomic bomb explosions, is associated with a risk increased risk of developing brain cancer (gliomas and meningiomas).
The average period between radiation therapy for cancer and the subsequent development of a secondary cancer is usually 10 to 15 years. It’s unclear to what extent diagnostic radiation is related to brain cancer risk, but radiologists exercise more caution when ordering CT scans, especially in young children.
Personal history of cancer
Childhood cancers, as well as cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and gliomas in adults, are associated with an increased risk of developing brain cancer. It is unclear whether this is related to the cancer itself, to cancer treatments (specifically intrathecal chemotherapy, when chemotherapy drugs are injected directly into the cerebrospinal fluid that circulates in the brain and spinal cord), or to a problem (such as a genetic mutation) that underlies both cancers.
The weight
People who are overweight or obese have an increased risk of developing brain cancer.
History of epileptic seizures
It is known that people with seizure disorders have an increased risk of developing brain cancer, but it is not certain whether seizures increase the risk or whether people with underlying tumors may have seizures related to the tumor before it is identified. It is also thought that drugs used to treat seizures could increase the risk.
Prenatal factors
Prenatal birth weight, particularly a high fetal growth rate, is associated with a significantly increased risk of meningiomas, ependymomas, and one type of astrocytoma. The reasons for this finding are uncertain, but researchers have speculated that conditions such as gestational diabetes (pregnancy-related diabetes) may play a role.
Children born heavier than normal for their age (more than 4,500 grams in a full-term infant) or lower than normal (less than 2,600 grams in a full-term infant) are more likely to develop breast cancer. brain than children of normal size at birth.
There is evidence that children born to mothers who eat salty meat (such as bacon, ham, pastrami, or pepperoni) during pregnancy have an increased risk of developing brain cancer. In contrast, children whose mothers took a multivitamin during pregnancy appear to have a lower risk.
Additionally, there is little evidence that children born to mothers who consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables during pregnancy have a lower risk. (If the risk from insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption exists, it’s probably small, and parents of children with brain tumors shouldn’t blame themselves.)
Exposure to pesticides
There is evidence that exposure to household insecticides, such as pet flea and tick repellents, is associated with an increased risk of brain cancer in children and young adults. A 2013 review of 20 studies also appears to show that children born to parents exposed to pesticides in the workplace have an increased risk.
Occupational and domestic exposures
Many people are exposed to carcinogens in the workplace. Certain occupations have been linked to an increased risk of brain cancer, including firefighters, farmers, chemists, doctors, and people working with petrochemicals, power generators, synthetic rubber manufacturing, or the manufacture of agricultural chemicals. It is unclear whether exposure to solvents, rubber, or vinyl chloride increases the risk. Air pollution and living near landfills are also possibly associated with increased risk.
Lpotential risk factors
There are several risk factors that are uncertain or for which studies have shown mixed results, with an increase or decrease in risk in some cases, but no change in risk in others. Some of them include:
food
As mentioned earlier, dietary habits during pregnancy (such as consumption of salty meats, fruits, and vegetables) may be associated with brain cancer risk. Nitrosamines (formed in the body from nitrites and nitrates found in salted meats, cigarette smoke and some cosmetics) have been linked to an increased risk of brain tumors in children and adults, although the significance of the link remains unclear.
electromagnetic fields
Electromagnetic fields, first of concern to people living near high-voltage (and still unclear) power lines, and now with the widespread use of cell phones and other wireless devices, are potentially associated with risk increased brain cancer.
Recently, a 2017 review of studies investigating the link between cellphone use and brain tumors showed that prolonged cellphone use may be associated with an increased risk of glioma, and the World Health Organization has called cell phones “possibly carcinogenic.”
Old analog phones were associated with the development of benign tumors called acoustic neuromas. Recent studies have instead found a link between cellphone use and gliomas, the most common type of brain tumor.
With concerns like these, it is important to discuss the latency period, which is the period of time between exposure to a carcinogen (carcinogenic substance or event) and the subsequent development of cancer. It is because of this latency period that we cannot know the impact of a particular exposure for decades.
Cell phones haven’t been used that long. By comparison, if cigarettes had only been available for a few decades, we might wonder if they actually increase cancer risk. Now it is very clear that they do.
At the same time, people don’t need to get fanatical and ditch their phones. For those who are concerned, especially parents whose children use phones, there are a few steps you can take to reduce your exposure. This includes :
Use the phone only for short conversations.
Use a landline when possible.
Use a hands-free device to increase the distance between the phone and your head. (With these devices, the antenna power source is not against the head.) Hands-free devices greatly reduce RF exposure.
In conclusion, it is also possible that electromagnetic fields act in conjunction with other exposures to increase the risk. For example, exposure to petroleum products appears to increase brain tumor risk, but exposures to solvents, lead, pesticides, and herbicides have been associated with an increased risk of glioma primarily in people also exposed to moderate amounts of electromagnetic radiation.
Infections
Researchers have looked at the role of several infectious diseases in increasing or decreasing the risk of brain cancers. It has been found that having had chickenpox as a child is associated with a lower risk of developing brain cancer.
The issue is less clear when it comes to Epstein-Barr virus infections (the virus that causes mononucleosis) and cytomegalovirus infections. Although cytomegalovirus has been found in the brains of people with brain tumors and these infections may increase the risk of central nervous system lymphomas, it is not known if there is a link to brain tumors.
Medical conditions
For unknown reasons, having allergies in adulthood is associated with a lower risk of developing a glioma. There also appears to be a lower risk for people with allergic skin conditions (atopic dermatitis) such as eczema.
smoking
Unlike many cancers associated with smoking, there is little evidence that smoking increases the risk of brain tumors such as gliomas and meningiomas. There is also little evidence that alcohol consumption plays a role in these tumors.
Only one older study found an increased risk of malignant gliomas in female assignees who smoked marijuana, but not in male assignees. In this study, the risk of gliomas was also higher in those who drank seven or more cups of coffee a day.
Genetic factors
Having a family history of brain tumors is associated with an increased risk of developing the disease. It is estimated that 5% to 10% of brain tumors are of “hereditary” origin.
Having a first-degree relative (biological parent, sibling, child) with a brain tumor increases the risk by a factor of 2.43.
There are also several genetic syndromes associated with an increased risk of brain cancer. Some of them are:
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1): People with this genetic condition have an increased risk of developing brain tumors, including gliomas.
Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2): This genetic condition leads to the development of benign tumors on the auditory nerves, which increases the risk of meningiomas and vestibular schwannomas.
Li-Fraumeni syndrome: People with this syndrome have a high risk of developing several types of cancer, including brain tumors.
Turcot syndrome: This syndrome is associated with an increased risk of brain tumors and intestinal polyps.
Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome: People with this syndrome have an increased risk of developing benign and malignant tumors in different parts of the body, including the brain.
Familial brain tumors and cancers: This syndrome is associated with an increased risk of brain tumors in family members.
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