The family thought it was just a normal headache caused by stress from studying, so they just gave her medicine to treat it. After that, the headache continued to recur continuously, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, making her tired. Suspecting unusual signs in her body, her mother took her to a local medical facility for examination.
Here, she was assigned a brain MRI scan and discovered a pineal tumor - a type of tumor located deep in the brain, which can compress and obstruct the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid. This is the cause of increased intracranial pressure, causing the severe symptoms she experienced. After investigation, her family took her to Xuyen A General Hospital for treatment.
Multimodal treatment of pineal region tumors
Master - Specialist Doctor 1 Nguyen Huu Huy, Head of Chemotherapy Unit, Oncology Department, Xuyen A General Hospital said that pineal gland tumor is a tumor located deep in the brain, near the center of the brain - a location that is very difficult to biopsy as well as surgical intervention. For a young patient like H. and the tumor is located in a difficult location, choosing a treatment direction for the patient is a big challenge.
After a multidisciplinary consultation between experts, the doctors agreed to combine multimodality (combining surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) to treat the patient's pineal tumor. The main goal is to resolve the cerebrospinal fluid retention, then combine chemotherapy and radiotherapy to control the tumor - which is very sensitive to these methods.
First, the doctors performed surgery to place a ventriculoperitoneal shunt to resolve the fluid retention, helping to drain cerebrospinal fluid from the brain to the abdomen, reducing intracranial pressure. After the stressful surgery, the patient's headache and dizziness were significantly reduced. After the surgery, H. began the next important treatment phase, chemotherapy.
Doctors during surgery to place a ventriculoperitoneal shunt to relieve fluid retention
PHOTO: YV
“Because the patient's pineal tumor is a stromal tumor that responds well to chemotherapy, the patient will receive chemotherapy first, then evaluate the results and plan to combine radiotherapy at the same time. During the treatment, doctors will monitor imaging (MRI) and blood tests to measure cancer markers to closely evaluate the patient's treatment response," Dr. Huy shared.
Currently, after 6 days of chemotherapy, the patient is responding well to the treatment regimen, no longer having headaches or dizziness. According to the plan, the patient will undergo a 21-day chemotherapy cycle, then evaluate the response and then give the patient a plan for additional radiotherapy.
Pineal gland tumor - a rare disease, should not be subjective
Dr. Huy said that pineal gland tumors are tumors located in the pineal gland - a small endocrine gland located deep in the brain parenchyma, near the center of the brain. Pineal gland tumors are rare in the general population, accounting for about 1% of brain tumors in adults and about 3-11% in children, often occurring in children aged 10-20 years old.
Common signs of pineal tumors are nausea, vomiting, headache, breathing disorders... If not treated promptly, pineal tumors can cause hydrocephalus due to the tumor compressing the cerebral aqueduct and the third ventricle. Pineal tumors also compress the superior brainstem, cerebellum, posterior fossa of the brain... causing many disorders such as blurred vision, difficulty raising eyes, headache, digestive disorders due to increased intracranial pressure. Therefore, when suffering from the above problems, patients need to go to the doctor early for timely treatment, helping to prevent the development of pineal tumors.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tphcm-nam-sinh-dau-dau-tuong-do-hoc-tap-cang-thang-hoa-ra-u-nao-185251128110301645.htm
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