Make an Appointment
Talk to DoctorA high grade glioma is a fast-growing, aggressive type of brain or spinal cord tumor that requires immediate and comprehensive medical care.
Overview
When facing a diagnosis of a high grade glioma, it is completely normal to feel overwhelmed, but understanding the condition is the first step toward managing it. A high grade glioma is a malignant tumor originating from glial cells, which are the supportive cells of the central nervous system.
Unlike a low grade glioma, which grows slowly and is generally less aggressive, a high grade glioma multiplies rapidly and weaves into surrounding healthy brain or spinal cord tissue, making it challenging to treat. While the medical terminology can be confusing, it helps to know that a high grade glioma is a broad category of aggressive tumors most commonly found in adults, whereas a specific, less generic subtype like a diffuse midline glioma is typically found in children. Because a high grade glioma grows so quickly, seeking specialized care promptly is essential for navigating the condition and securing the best possible outcome.
Symptoms
The symptoms of a high grade glioma depend heavily on the tumor’s size, its growth rate, and exactly where it is located within the central nervous system. Common signs to watch out for include:
- Severe, persistent headaches that are often worse in the morning or may wake you from sleep.
- Unexplained nausea and vomiting, particularly when paired with a headache.
- New onset of seizures or convulsions in someone with no history of epilepsy.
- Changes in personality, mood, or increased irritability.
- Cognitive difficulties, such as confusion or memory loss.
- Physical issues like weakness, balance problems, or a lack of muscle coordination.
- Changes in vision, hearing, or speech.
Causes
While the exact medical reason why a high grade glioma develops remains unclear, researchers believe it involves changes or mutations in the DNA of glial cells.
- Spontaneous genetic mutations that cause the brain’s glial cells to multiply out of control.
- Errors in the genes that fail to tell old or damaged cells to die when they normally should.
- The transition or progression of slower-growing tumors into a more aggressive high grade glioma over time, a scenario seen primarily in adult patients.
Risk factors
Most people who develop a high grade glioma do not have an easily identifiable cause, but a few potential risk factors have been noted by medical experts.
- Previous radiation exposure: A history of radiation therapy to the head or brain can slightly increase the risk of developing a high grade glioma later in life.
- Age: While they can happen at any age, high grade gliomas are much more common in adults than in children.
- Rare genetic syndromes: Inherited conditions, such as Neurofibromatosis type-1 (NF1), Li-Fraumeni syndrome, or Turcot syndrome, can raise the likelihood of developing a high grade glioma, though this is quite rare and most patients have no family history of the disease.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing a high grade glioma quickly and accurately is vital for mapping out an effective treatment plan. Your doctor will begin with a thorough neurological exam and a review of your symptoms, followed by advanced imaging scans such as a contrast-enhanced MRI or CT scan to clearly visualize the tumor’s size and location.
To confirm whether the tumor is a high grade glioma, a neurosurgeon will typically perform a biopsy, removing a small sample of the tumor tissue, either as a standalone procedure or during a surgery to remove the mass. A specialized pathologist then examines these cells under a microscope to determine the tumor’s exact grade and genetic characteristics, which guides the specialized care team at Vejthani International Hospital in tailoring the most effective therapies for your specific high grade glioma.
Treatment
Treating a high grade glioma requires a highly personalized and multidisciplinary approach because of the tumor’s aggressive nature and tendency to blend with healthy brain tissue. At Vejthani International Hospital, our expert team, including neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, and radiation specialists, works together to design a customized plan for your high grade glioma. While a high grade glioma can be difficult to cure entirely, our goals are to safely remove as much of the tumor as possible, slow down its rapid growth, and preserve your quality of life through comprehensive care.
Controlling symptoms
Before, during, and after primary treatments, managing the symptoms caused by a high grade glioma is a top priority to keep you as comfortable as possible. Your medical team may prescribe medications such as corticosteroids to reduce swelling and relieve pressure in the brain, which often helps alleviate severe headaches and nausea. If the high grade glioma is causing seizures, anti-epileptic drugs will be given to stabilize electrical activity in the brain. Palliative care specialists also play a crucial role, offering strategies and support to help cope with pain, fatigue, and the emotional weight of a high grade glioma diagnosis.
Surgery
Surgery is usually the first and most critical step in treating a high grade glioma, provided the tumor is located in an area where it can be operated on safely. The primary goal of the neurosurgeon is to perform a safe, maximal resection, meaning they will remove as much of the high grade glioma as possible without damaging the surrounding healthy brain tissue that controls vital functions. Because a high grade glioma has microscopic projections that extend into normal tissue, completely removing every single cancer cell is often impossible. However, reducing the size of the tumor significantly relieves pressure on the brain and makes subsequent treatments for your high grade glioma much more effective.
Radiation therapy
Following surgery, radiation therapy is a standard treatment used to target the microscopic cancer cells left behind by a high grade glioma. This procedure involves using a machine to direct highly focused, high-dose energy beams, such as X-rays, directly at the tumor site while minimizing exposure to the surrounding healthy brain tissue. For a high grade glioma, radiation helps to shrink any remaining tumor mass and stall its rapid growth. It is an essential tool in delaying the recurrence of a high grade glioma and improving overall survival rates, usually administered over a series of daily sessions.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy utilizes powerful drugs to destroy fast-growing cancer cells and is frequently used alongside or immediately following radiation for a high grade glioma. For adult patients, oral chemotherapy medications are often prescribed because they are specifically designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and attack the high grade glioma directly. While chemotherapy affects the whole body and can cause side effects like nausea and fatigue, it is a highly valuable tool in preventing the high grade glioma cells from dividing and multiplying. Your oncology team will carefully monitor your progress and adjust the dosage to ensure the chemotherapy aggressively targets the high grade glioma while managing any adverse effects.
Targeted therapy
Because a high grade glioma frequently returns after initial treatments, targeted therapy offers a modern approach tailored to the tumor’s specific genetic makeup. Instead of attacking all rapidly dividing cells like traditional chemotherapy, targeted therapy drugs focus on specific abnormalities, proteins, or genetic mutations present within the high grade glioma cells that help them grow. By blocking these specific pathways, targeted therapies can effectively starve or disable the high grade glioma. This option is highly personalized, your medical team will analyze the biopsy of your high grade glioma to see if you are a candidate for these specialized medications.
Rehabilitation post treatment
Recovering from a high grade glioma and its intense treatments takes time, making post-treatment rehabilitation an essential phase of your care journey. Because a high grade glioma and interventions like brain surgery can impact your motor skills, speech, and cognitive abilities, a dedicated team of physical, occupational, and speech therapists will work with you to rebuild strength and independence. Rehabilitation aims to help your brain rewire itself, adapting to any functional changes caused by the high grade glioma.
At Vejthani International Hospital, our holistic rehabilitation programs are designed to support your physical recovery and emotional well-being, ensuring you have the highest possible quality of life moving forward.
