4 min readJun 8, 2025 08:11 AM IST
First published on: Jun 7, 2025 at 03:42 PM IST
Written by Dr Tarun Sharma
There is a lot of information fog on brain tumours. So let me begin with some of my success stories. A six-and-a half-year old girl has gone back to school after six months and has resumed her normal activities and hobbies. An 80-year-old doctor is now playing golf. I even have a patient of glioblastoma, the most common and malignant brain tumour, who has survived five years after surgery, a rarity in such cases.
Many ask me if brain tumour cases are rising in India. I wouldn’t say that incidence has increased. But now high-quality MRI and scan options are available in a greater number of cities, so more cases are getting reported. Now we do not need a biopsy to differentiate between brain tumour and brain TB. AI-assisted devices can interpret lesions.
Brain tumour can affect anybody at any age and you can’t pinpoint causes except that the DNA in the cell changes. Risk factors are family history, exposure to radiation and obesity, the last linked to a certain type of brain tumour called meningioma, which is often benign.
CHALLENGES OF BRAIN TUMOUR IN KIDS
Challenges of surgery with kids are that they have less blood volume, so we cannot afford blood loss. You can give them limited anaesthesia and no radiation. The six-and-a-half-year-old came with vomiting, headache and gait imbalance, suggesting the tumour in her brain stem area had increased the swelling, built up fluid and pressure within her brain. We first implanted a shunt, a tube really, to drain the excess fluid into her abdominal cavity for excretion.
The definitive surgery we did a week later. It was difficult because of the tumour’s location within the brain, surrounded as it was by delicate tissues and vital structures. Surgery can be difficult due to the tumour’s potential spread and the brain’s confined space. We thought we could extract only 80 per cent of the tumour and might have to leave behind 20 per cent. But with precision surgery, we were able to extract all of it on the table. She didn’t need any supportive therapies like chemotherapy and radiation.
ELDERLY SURVIVORS
My 80-year-old had a pituitary gland tumour. For two years, he resisted surgery since it was benign. But when he began experiencing vision loss and memory loss as well as seizures, surgery was the only option. Besides, he had age-related diabetes, which elevated his risks. Here we used minimally invasive procedures and extracted the tumour through an endoscope we had inserted through his nose.
He has recovered his vision, his memory is improving and he has even resumed driving, all within a year of the procedure. His post-op scans are fine. He will have to do another MRI after three months of surgery and then once in a year for the next three years.
WHY MINIMALLY INVASIVE TECHNIQUES SPEED UP RECOVERY
Endoscopic surgery, keyhole surgery, and robotic surgery use smaller incisions to access the brain, minimizing damage to surrounding tissue and accelerating recovery. We have stereotactic radiosurgery, which delivers focussed radiation to the tumour. Intraoperative MRI now allows surgeons to visualise the brain and tumour in real-time during surgery, guiding precise removal.
WHAT ABOUT SURVIVAL?
If the tumour is non-cancerous, the survival rate of patients post-surgery can be 90 per cent. However, the patient’s age, the grade and type of tumour matter. But survival prospects have improved. All you need is a concentrated focus on recovery as seizures and pains persist in some patients. Monitoring for relapses, cognitive therapies and mental counselling are needed for a long time. But we have been able to ensure quality of life.
(Dr Sharma is Clinical Director, Neurosurgery, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Faridabad)
Brain tumour can affect anybody at any age and you can’t pinpoint causes except that the DNA in the cell changes. (File Photo) 
Share
