Kinkini Gupta
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Written By: Kinkini Gupta | Updated : June 8, 2022 5:01 PM IST
World Brain Tumor Day, 8th June
Hormonal therapy is being touted as the most effective and advanced treatments for curing cancer. But are you aware of the negative side effects of hormonal treatments? On the occasion of World Brain Tumor Day, health experts have warned people to be conscious about the therapy as high-doses of hormonal drugs can increase the risk of meningioma - the most common benign brain tumor - especially in women.
Meningioma is mostly a non-cancerous brain tumor arising in the layers of tissue (meninges) that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Although the majority of meningiomas are benign, these tumors can grow slowly until they are very large, if left undiscovered, and, in some locations, can be severely disabling and life-threatening.
According to expert, the chances of meningioma formation increase when hormone medicine doses are high, and therapy is prolonged. Meningioma develops in the tissues that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord (meninges). The higher the dose, and the longer the drug is taken for, the greater the risk of meningioma. However, the risk decreases significantly after the treatment is discontinued, they stated.
Speaking to a new agency recently, Dr. Nagesh Chandra, Senior Consultant and HOD, Neurosurgery and Spine Surgery of Aakash Healthcare, highlighted the association between the growth of meningiomas and hormonal treatments, particularly prolonged and high dose use of the drug cyproterone acetate (CPA).
Cyproterone acetate is a steroid used in combination with ethinyl oestradiol to treat women with severe acne. But two recent studies, published in peer-reviewed journals Scientific Reports and The BMJ, suggested that high doses of the widely-used drug can raise the risk of brain tumor by seven-fold.
The drug is also used other conditions such as excessive hair growth in women and inoperable prostate cancer in men. Very small doses are also used in birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy. The occurrence of meningiomas has been reported in association with the use of cyproterone acetate, primarily at doses of 25 mg/day and above.
Below are some common symptoms of this condition that people should be aware of:
Today is World Brain Tumor Day, which is celebrated every year to raise awareness among people regarding this condition. A brain tumor is a mass or growth of abnormal cells in your brain. Many different types of brain tumors exist. Some brain tumors are noncancerous (benign), and some brain tumors are cancerous (malignant). Brain tumors can begin in your brain (primary brain tumors), or cancer can begin in other parts of your body and spread to your brain as secondary (metastatic) brain tumors.
