Causes of Brain Cancer
Brain Cancer is the abnormal growth of brain cells. Cancer
is caused when there is a change in the genetic makeup of the cell, and it
begins to unconditionally multiply and proliferate. There are many risk factors
that could cause cancer. Some of the causes of brain cancer are age, UV rays,
mobile phones, medical conditions, heredity, virus and radiotherapy.
Abnormal growth of the cells in the brain is termed as brain
tumor. This type of tumor may begin in the brain itself or arise as an offshoot
from other types of cancers. Primary tumor or cancer that originates in the
brain is of many types such as meningioma, acoustic neuroma, pineoblastoma,
ependymoma and oligodendroglioma. The name of the cancer is derived from the
type of cell that the cancer originates from. Brain cancer is almost always
lethal and could lead to a suite of other health problems. Due to its highly
intricate nature, brain cancer study is going on at a very slow pace.
The top 3 causes of brain cancer are:
DNA Mutation
Cancer occurs when the cell loses its ability to die. In
plain speaking, the cells become immortal. And they start multiplying quickly
and proliferate at great speeds. It is believed that this change occurs in the
cell due to a mutation (change) in the DNA structure of the cell. The abnormal
cells have no place to move and start lumping in the location, creating bumps
or tumors that we see. Soon, these cells start infecting other cells and make
them cancerous.
Age and Gender
Though people of all ages have the risk of getting brain
cancer, the rate of occurrence becomes higher with increasing age. Statistics
has shown that men are more prone to this brain disease than women. Females, on
the other hand, have more non-cancerous type of tumors.
Heredity
Genetic conditions also have a major role in causing cancer.
Children of cancer patients are more prone to this disease.
Medical Conditions
It has been found that those suffering from medical
conditions such as Neurofibromatosis, Turcot syndrome, Gorlin syndrome, Von
Hippel-Lindau syndrome, AIDS and Li-Fraumeni syndrome are more prone to cancer.
Miscellaneous Causes
The harmful UV rays have been found to be one of the major
causes of skin cancer. Whether these rays damage the cells of the brain is yet
to be studied. Smoking, alcohol, hair dye and other chemicals are believed to
be carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). Recently there are a lot of studies
about how use of mobile phones could be linked to brain cancer. Some research
studies also link brain cancer to living in proximity to areas that have high
power lines. It is believed that children who are exposed to radiotherapy for
other treatments could have a higher risk of brain cancer.
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