World Brain Tumour Day 2025: Early Diagnosis And Awareness Key To Brain Health For All Ages

Every year, June 8th is observed as World Brain Tumour Day, a global initiative to raise awareness about brain tumours, their symptoms, treatment, and the importance of early detection. The theme for 2025, "Brain Health for All Ages," underscores the need for vigilant brain care across all demographics—children, adults, and the elderly alike. 

Dr. V. Bramha Prasad, Consultant Neuro Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, Secunderabad shares early diagnosis and awareness key to brain health for all ages on this World Brain Tumor Day 2025.

A brain tumour is an abnormal mass of tissue where cells grow uncontrollably, disrupting normal brain function. Unlike healthy cells that follow the body’s biological rules, tumour cells grow unchecked, compressing or invading brain structures. This growth within the rigid confines of the skull can elevate intracranial pressure, shift brain structures, or damage nerves and tissues. Tumours may remain within the central nervous system (CNS)—comprising the brain and spinal cord—and rarely spread elsewhere.

Brain tumours are classified as primary (originating in the brain) or metastatic (spread from another part of the body). Primary tumours may be glial (gliomas) or nonglial (arising from brain structures like nerves and blood vessels). Metastatic tumours, which are more common, often result from cancers of the lungs, breast, or other organs.

Recognizing the Symptoms

Early symptoms can mimic other medical conditions, making diagnosis difficult. In adults, common signs include:

• Persistent headaches, worse in the morning
• Seizures or convulsions
• Nausea or vomiting
• Speech or cognitive difficulties
• Personality changes
• Weakness or paralysis on one side
• Vision disturbances and memory loss

In children, symptoms may present differently and subtly, such as:

• Morning vomiting without nausea
• Balance or coordination issues
• Increasing head size in infants
• Vision problems, unexplained irritability, or drowsiness

If any of these symptoms persist or worsen over time, consulting a doctor is crucial for accurate diagnosis.

Malignant vs. Benign Tumours

While not all brain tumours are cancerous, they can be life-threatening due to their location. Malignant tumours (e.g., glioblastomas) grow aggressively and infiltrate surrounding tissue. Benign tumours, though slower-growing, may still pose serious risks if located near critical brain structures.

Brain tumours are graded using the World Health Organization (WHO) classification system, which helps predict tumour behavior and guides treatment decisions. It's worth noting that even benign tumours may evolve into malignant forms, and both types can recur after treatment. 

 

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Diagnosis and Treatment

 

Diagnosis typically involves:

• Neurological examinations
• Imaging (MRI or CT scans)
• Biopsy for tumour typing

Treatment is often multidisciplinary, involving neurosurgeons, oncologists, and radiologists. Approaches may include:

• Surgery – to remove or reduce tumour size
• Radiation therapy – to destroy remaining tumour cells
• Chemotherapy – for aggressive or inoperable tumours

Treatment plans vary depending on the tumour's type, location, and the patient’s age and overall health. Some tumours enter remission, where they stop growing. However, recurrent tumours may develop, requiring continuous follow-up and imaging.

 

 

The Sneakiest Cancers And How To Spot Them Before It Is Too Late

Cancer is an extremely complex and dangerous group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.

According to the World Health Organisation, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 9.6 million deaths, or 1 in 6 deaths. Lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach, and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervical, and thyroid cancer are the most common among women.

Even though there have been significant advancements in medical research and technology that have helped improve the easy and timely detection of various cancers, some types exhibit a sneaky nature, making them challenging to diagnose and treat.

    

 According to experts, most people who lose their lives because of cancer are diagnosed at a very later stage, when treatments do not work. There are more than 100 types of cancer, and some are more common than others.

Pancreatic cancer

Often called the "silent killer" due to the absence of any noticeable signs until the disease has advanced, pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest. A few signs include:

 

Stomach pain

• Unintentional weight loss
• Digestive issues

However, these are common with many other ailments and initially cannot be attributed to just cancer. And so, pancreatic cancer is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage, reducing treatment options and overall survival rates. 1

Skin cancer

Skin cancer is the most common form of the disease, which affects more than a million people yearly across the world. A few signs include:

• Sores that take a long time to heal
• Raised, scaly red patches
• Small and smooth lumps on the skin
• Pale skin that resembles scars
• Sores or growths that bleed
• Pink growths with raised edges

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide with over 2 million reported cases every year.

According to doctors, it can be extremely subtle in its initial stages. Early symptoms like cough and chest discomfort can be attributed to other respiratory problems. Also, this cancer mostly lacks obvious symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. 2

Kidney cancer

Most people do not report early stages of kidney cancer because it does not involve any pain or recognizable signs. 

According to doctors, this cancer progresses quietly but aggressively, and as the tumour grows, you may experience signs like:

• Blood in the urine
• Severe back pain
• Unintentional weight loss

Brain cancer

Brain cancer, also known as bitemporal hemianopsia, is a deadly ailment that arises due to tumours or gliomas which form a thin layer of tissue that covers the spinal cord and brain. 

 

Even though it may exhibit subtle signs like headaches or fatigue, later as the tumour grows, you may suffer from seizures or fits - particularly in those patients who do not have a medical history. According to experts, nearly one-third of patients diagnosed with brain tumour report a seizure before being diagnosed with a tumour.

A brain tumour also affects the brain’s processing speed leading to cognitive decline which is very slow.

What can be done to identify cancer signs?

According to the Indian Cancer Society, paying attention to even small details and mild symptoms are extremely important. 

Doctors say if those, including high-risk groups, are aware of the possible signs and symptoms of cancer, and empowered to contact their doctors as soon as they notice any of these signs or symptoms, it can facilitate the early diagnosis of cancer.

Every abnormality in the body should be dealt with carefully.

 

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Brain cancer, tumour can be triggered by healing process that follows stroke, brain injury

The human body is amazing, and even when the body only intends to do good, heal, and recover from certain health issues it is faced with, sometimes the healing processes can backfire. One such incidence is seen in auto-immune diseases, where the body's immune response can also target the healthy cells. As per the latest study, for instance, the healing process that follows a stroke, trauma, brain infection, or brain injury can trigger the development of cancer, a study has found. 

According to researchers from Canada, when they analysed cells from tumours of 26 patients with a common but aggressive form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma, it was found that mutations can derail the process which is supposed to create new cells to replace those that have been lost, and spike tumour growth. 

The team hopes that the research will help in developing more tailored therapies for individual brain cancer patients. As per researchers, the findings could lead to new therapies for glioblastoma patients, who currently have limited treatment options and an average lifespan of only 15 months after diagnosis. 

'Our data suggest that the right mutational change in particular cells in the brain could be modified by injury to give rise to a tumour,' said paper author and neurosurgeon Peter Dirks of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. 

'Glioblastoma can be thought of as a wound that never stops healing,' Dr Dirks said.

'We're excited about what this tells us about how cancer originates and grows and it opens up entirely new ideas about treatment by focusing on the injury and inflammation response.'

The researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing and machine learning technologies to map out the molecular make-up of glioblastoma stem cells – the one that is responsible for tumour initiation and recurrence after treatment. 

The team found new subpopulations of glioblastoma stem cells which bear the molecular hallmarks of inflammation and are comingled with other cancer stem cells inside patients' tumours.

These findings, as per Dr Dirks, suggest that some cancer start to form when the normal tissue healing process begins, which is actually supposed to generate new cells to replace those lost to injury, gets derailed by mutations. 

This, he added, might happen many years before a patient becomes symptomatic.

Once a mutant cell becomes engaged in wound healing, it doesn't stop multiplying — with all normal controls broken — spurring tumour growth, the team said.

'The goal is to identify a drug that will kill the glioblastoma stem cells,' said paper author and molecular geneticist Gary Bader of the University of Toronto.

'But we first needed to understand the molecular nature of these cells in order to be able to target them more effectively.'

The findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Cancer. 

As the initial study is now complete, researchers are now looking to target these biases for tailored therapies. 

'We're now looking for drugs that are effective on different points of this gradient,' said paper author and cancer genomicist Trevor Pugh of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto.

'There's a real opportunity here for precision medicine — to dissect patients' tumours at the single-cell level and design a drug cocktail that can take out more than one cancer stem cell subclone at the same time.'

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Scientists developing a combined vaccine to fight most malignant brain tumor

Scientists are developing a combined vaccine to fight the most deadly form of brain cancer.

A research team led by Nottingham Trent University is hoping to tackle glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) which kills more people than the other 130 types of brain tumor put together.

There is no effective, long-term treatment for GBM – the most malignant and resistant form of brain tumor – and new therapies are urgently required.

The disease carries a very poor prognosis – even after surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, patients have an average survival time of about 14 – 18 months. It is responsible for 5,000 deaths a year in the UK alone.

The new study, led by the NTU’s John van Geest Cancer Research Centre and funded by the Headcase Cancer Trust, will test a combined cancer vaccine which triggers immune responses against molecules that are expressed by GBM tumors.

As it is a combined vaccine, it will target two molecules (TRP2 and WT1) which both play a significant role in GBM and are expressed in many GBM cells.

It is expected that this study will provide a basis on which to move this new approach into the clinical setting.

    We hope to be able to develop effective, vaccine-based treatments for patients with this terrible disease.

    Current treatments for GBM are associated with severe and prolonged side-effects. The disease also has a high probability of recurrence after surgery due to the capacity of GBM cells to spread across large areas of the brain.

    Vaccines can trigger immune responses that protect us from diseases such as hepatitis, measles and tetanus, and such immunotherapies also offer an approach for the treatment of cancer, as they are relatively non-toxic and have the potential to protect against cancer recurrence.”

 Dr. Stéphanie McArdle, scientist in Nottingham Trent University’s John van Geest Cancer Research Centre  Headcase Cancer Trust's founder Colin Speirs’ wife, Becky, died from GBM in 2010. They met while studying at Nottingham Trent University.

Colin said: We’re delighted that Headcase continues to fund this genuinely ground-breaking project with NTU and that I, personally, can put something back into the University.

It’s their radical out-of-the-box thinking that we love; it fits perfectly with Headcase’s strategy to find a cure for this currently incurable disease. We look forward to moving this work, together, into human trials. The future gets written today.”

Professor Graham Pockley, Director of NTU’s John van Geest Cancer Research Centre, said:

It is an exciting period for those of us that are working hard to develop new approaches for turning a patient’s immune system against their tumor – so-called immunotherapy. Although success has been seen in many areas, effective treatments for GBM remain elusive.

Combining a vaccine approach which has already been tested in another setting with strategies for preventing the tumor switching off the immune attack and enabling activated immune cells to enter the brain and reach the tumor has great potential.”

The study also involves Queen Mary, University of London; the University of Nottingham and France’s Hôpital Saint Louis.

The vaccine ‘delivery system’ utilized by the scientists will be Scancell’s ‘Immunobody®’ technology, a version of which has been successfully used to develop SCIB1, an ImmunoBody® vaccine for the treatment of melanoma which has recently shown a highly promising survival trend in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial and is currently being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 2 trial in advanced melanoma patients.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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