6,000 new cases of brain cancer are diagnosed each year in France. Brain tumors are generally named after the cells from which they develop (meningioma, glioma, etc.).
In France, according to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 6,000 new cases of brain cancer are diagnosed each year. There are several types of brain cancer depending on their location: meningioma in the meninges, glioma in glial cells, etc. The most aggressive and widespread is glioblastoma. Meningiomas are more common in women, other brain tumors are more common in men. Among the famous people who suffered from brain cancer,English author from the series to success “Confessions of a Shopaholic” Sophie Kinsella, is deceased in December 2025. She was 55 years old.
Definition: what is brain cancer?
Brain cancer is a tumor lesion which develops in the skull at different levels: parenchyma, cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, brain stem, meninges (meningiomas), vascular structures (angiomas) or glandular structures (adenomas). Depending on the area affected, the name of the cancer changes. Intracranial tumors can be either benign or malignant. Among the benign tumors which are most often located outside the brain tissue, we mainly find schwannomas developed from a particular cell type, Schwann cells, and meningiomas developed in the meninges, one of the three membranes covering and protecting the brain. Malignant tumors are more deliberately localized in the brain parenchyma.
The different names of brain cancers
Glioma: These are the best known cancers, so called because the damaged cell is the glial cell found around neurons. The classification takes into account the degree of aggressiveness. There are several types, from I to IV, the first being the least aggressive.
Glioblastoma: “This is grade IV gliomas, it is the most aggressive and widespread. The treatments known today cannot cure this disease. There are only chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments to extend life expectancy to a year, a year and a half. explains Dr Vas Ciprian Barlog, neurologist specializing in neuro-oncology at Gonesse hospital.
Meningioma: Meningioma affects the cells of the meninges and can be located around the brain and spinal cord. The most common form of meningioma is benign, and its prognosis is favorable. Doctor Barlog specifies that there is also “malignant forms which require surgical treatment and radiotherapy”.
Medulloblastoma: It is a malignant lesion in the spinal cord and cerebellum. This tumor lesion appears mainly in children and adolescents. “This causes symptoms such as walking and balance problems and intracranial hypertension. There are specific treatments and the possibility of recovery depending on the stage of intervention” specifies Doctor Barlog.
Pituitary adenomas: It is a tumor that is most often benign and develops in the pituitary gland. “This gland, located behind the optic chiasma, in the pituitary fossa of the sphenoid bone, contains cells which produce hormones regulating the activity of several organs. A pituitary adenoma can then create hormonal imbalances. Depending on the adenoma, the treatment will be medical or surgical. Most pituitary adenomas are benign lesions. If they are malignant, the prognosis is favorable if they are treated in time. explains the doctor.
Cerebral lymphoma: it particularly affects immunodeficient patients and people aged over 60. “Its treatment is not practiced everywhere, because it requires close monitoring, heavy chemotherapy. Some patients can have a very long remission and there are many recurrences. Specialists are studying advanced treatments using stem cells to improve the prognosis, which is currently still unfavorable. specifies Doctor Barlorg. Survival is more important among young people.
What are the causes of brain cancer?
“If cancers such as those of the lung or liver have causes such as tobacco or alcohol, there is not yet a risk factor incriminated in that of the brain” replies our interlocutor. Researchers are exploring three avenues, as the Inca points out: the environment, heredity and viruses. Certain carcinogenic substances used in sectors such as rubber, petroleum, nuclear power or pesticides increase the risk in the event of strong and prolonged exposure. The effect of electromagnetic fields, including cell phones, remains uncertain; a precautionary principle applies especially to children. Heredity plays a small role: only a few benign tumors linked to neurofibromatosis concern less than 5% of cases. “There are genetic forms, quite rare, that we can suspect, for example, if glioblastomas appear in a young patient or if they have family members who have had brain cancer” specifies our interlocutor. No virus is involved, except HIV which can promote brain lymphoma by weakening the immune system. Overall, a risk factor is never enough to explain the appearance of a tumor.
What are the symptoms of brain cancer?
“Brain cancers growing inside the skull (which is rigid, inextensible), cause intracranial hypertension which gives neurological symptoms common to men and women. In general, women are perhaps more prone to headaches, nausea, vomiting, although these symptoms also appear in men; and men to epileptic seizures” informs Dr. Barlog. “However, in the case of pituitary adenoma, which can cause hormonal imbalances, some women will have milk secretions outside of pregnancy, amenorrhea. Men can suffer from impotence and gynecomastia (enlargement of the mammary glands)”.
→ headaches tend to appear in the morning when you wake up and are often accompanied by nauseaor even vomiting. They are caused by an increase in pressure inside the skull
→ epileptic seizures can also be a warning sign of a brain tumor (in women but also in men).
Diagnosis: what tests to detect brain cancer?
“There are two ways to discover brain cancer: either an acute event that requires you to go to the Emergency Department, most of the time it is an epileptic seizure. We then make a brain scan which can reveal an abnormal mass in the brain. Or else, there is a gradual appearance of neurological symptoms: headaches, nausea, vomiting, neurological deficits, language and cognitive disorders. The general practitioner or neurologist will order a CT scan or MRI. The doctors then speak of suspicion of a tumor, to have confirmation, a neurosurgeon performs a biopsy or surgery. describes the neuro-oncologist.
What treatments to treat brain cancer?
“Once the diagnosis has been established, different specialist doctors, neurologists, oncologists and neurosurgeons meet to establish together a course of action for treatment” explains our interlocutor. He there are three main therapies : chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy involves taking drugs that will destroy cancer cells. It can be used in addition to radiotherapy, before surgery to facilitate the procedure, or after surgery to destroy remaining tumor cells. Surgical treatment involves removing the tumor. Radiotherapy uses rays to destroy cancer cells.
What are the chances of survival?
It is difficult to give overall chances of survival. The prognosis for brain cancer depends on the type and progress of the disease. It also depends on other factors, such as age, general health, cardiovascular and respiratory risks, drug tolerance, and neurological recovery capabilities. For benign tumors (such as certain meningiomas), 5-year survival can be very high (around 96%), because they are not cancerous. Conversely, for glioblastoma (the most aggressive brain cancer), the prognosis is considered “unfavorable” with a net 5-year survival of 7%, according to figures published by Inca in 2021. This same figure can rise to 25% for other brain cancers.
Thanks to Dr Vas Ciprian Barlog, neurologist specializing in neuro-oncology at Gonesse hospital.
