Symptoms of brain and spinal cord tumors generally develop slowly and worsen over time unless they are treated. The tumor may be classified as benign or malignant and given a numbered score that reflects how malignant it is. This score can help doctors determine how to treat the tumor and predict the likely outcome, or prognosis, for the patient. 

What research is being done?

Researchers are studying brachytherapy (small radioactive pellets implanted directly into the tumor) and advanced drugs and techniques for chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In gene therapy for brain and spinal cord tumors, scientists insert a gene to make the tumor cells sensitive to certain drugs, to program the cells to self-destruct, or to instruct the cells to manufacture substances to slow their growth. Scientists are also investigating why some genes become cancer-causing. Since tumors are more sensitive to heat than normal tissue, research scientists are testing hyperthermia as a treatment by placing special heat-producing antennae into the tumor region after surgery. In immunotherapy, scientists are looking for ways to duplicate or enhance the body’s immune response to fight against brain and spinal cord cancer.

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