Transitional brain tumors are tumor cells that emerge from the original malignant tumor, such as a tumor of the lung, intestine, breast, or any tumor in the body, and travel through the blood to land inside the brain and then grow inside the brain despite the intensive treatment of the primary tumor, even after several years from the occurrence of the primary tumor. The most common tumors that metastasize to the brain are lung tumors (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer), and then other tumors such as breast, colon, and melanoma come after it.
The treatment of metastatic tumors, which are malignant in origin, lies in controlling them, whether by surgical treatment to eradicate them if possible, or radiation therapy to the entire brain, or radiosurgery treatment with a gamma knife without surgery.
Surgical treatment of metastatic tumors of the brain is not readily available due to the difficulty of reaching them deep in the brain in most cases, or the patient's physical and psychological condition that does not allow for surgical intervention. Therefore, medical centers have traditionally treated metastatic brain tumors with radiation therapy to the entire brain and in successive doses over three to four weeks. Which results in complications such as vomiting, weakness and hair loss.
With the development of modern medicine, and the introduction of stereotactic surgery (Gamma Knife Radio Surgery) to the world of treating brain tumors by gamma knife without surgery, the treatment of metastatic brain tumors has become a top priority for treatment by gamma knife without surgery, with only one session, and one day And using local anesthesia. The combined results from various international centers in the United States of America, Europe, Japan, India and China, as well as at our center in Amman - Jordan, showed that the treatment of metastatic tumors by gamma knife is superior to whole-brain radiotherapy, and also outperforms microsurgical intervention in terms of results and while avoiding complications from surgery and radiation. such as hair loss, weakness and vomiting.
In some cases, we recommend giving half of the focused radiological dose with a gamma knife, and then giving the second half of the radiological dose with intermittent deep beams in doses over several weeks, in order to ensure sterilization of the brain from transitional tumors that are not visible in the color magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.
The results of melting or resizing of the metastatic brain tumor after being treated with Gamma Knife appear during the first three months following the treatment, with an improvement in his pathological and neurological condition. Life rates after treatment with Gamma Knife range from ten months to more than two years, after the availability of other conditions, including complete control. on the original tumor.
The steps of the gamma knife treatment are to install the corrective surgery device (siriotactic) on the patient’s head, to conduct an accurate 3D color magnetic resonance imaging, and then to develop the treatment plan for the gamma knife and to give the full dose in one session, then the patient is discharged from the hospital on the same day of treatment.