Cerebral edema and tumors: causes, symptoms and treatments

Cerebral edema is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the brain tissue that causes an increase in brain volume and, under certain conditions, in the pressure inside the skull. It can have several causes, including trauma, stroke, infections and tumors. One of the most common forms in brain tumors is vasogenic edema. In this case, the tumor can make the small blood vessels surrounding it more "permeable", encouraging the leakage of liquids into nearby tissues. This causes swelling which can contribute to symptoms.

Edema can put pressure on and interfere with the normal functioning of the areas of the brain near the tumor, causing various disorders. In more severe cases, increased intracranial pressure can cause a neurological emergency condition. But the severity of the symptoms depends on the amount of edema, its location and the brain structures involved.

Among the symptoms of cerebral edema reported by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità there are headache, nausea and vomiting, vision changes, dizziness or balance disorders, confusion or changes in mental status, drowsiness or reduced alertness, difficulty speaking, weakness or difficulty moving, changes in sensitivity and, in some patients, convulsions. The symptoms depend above all on the location of the lesion and the extent of the edema.

To understand if there is a tumor and possible brain edema, doctors mainly use diagnostic imaging tests. Among these, MRI of the brain is one of the main tools because it allows us to see the presence of the lesion. To determine precisely what type of cancer it is, when necessary, doctors can analyze a tissue sample taken during a biopsy or surgery.

Treatment of edema depends on the cause and severity of the symptoms. As the ISS further underlines, when the swelling is caused by a brain tumor, corticosteroids are used which help reduce the swelling around the mass. In more severe cases, doctors may also use other treatments to reduce the pressure inside the skull. And, when possible, also intervene on the neoplasm through surgery and, depending on the type of tumor, other therapies.

Guest on the Di Tuesday program on La 7, Di Battista addressed the topic of the disease. “This plague of the 21st century has one advantage: it is democratic,” he said. "I'm not one of those who says 'I'll make it', I have to undergo treatment and have a positive attitude. The ones who shouldn't give up are the doctors", added the former MP, specifying that he was "followed very well". "In Cuba they performed a very sophisticated operation on me with technologies that were used here 30 years ago, yet the neurosurgeon saved my life."