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Types of Brain Tumors

There are many types of brain tumors. The most common type of brain tumor in adults is glioma comprising nearly 1/2 of all brain tumors. Gliomas arise from the structural cells that hold the brain together. Gliomas are further divided into particular types:

a) Glioblastoma multiforme - One-half of gliomas, or 1/4 of all brain tumors, are glioblastoma multiforme which is the most deadly and hard to treat brain cancer.

b) Astrocytomas make up 15% of brain tumors, and may either be low-grade, which means indolent and curable, or higher grade, which are aggressive.

c) Other gliomas, at about 2% each, include ependymoma, which arises from the cells which line inner cavities of the brain (called the ventricles),oligodendroglioma which comes from another structural cell, and medulloblastoma which is much more common in children.

All these other glioma types can be either indolent or aggressive, depending upon their grade, and the treatment are different for the various types.