Name of disease:

ICD-10 diagnosis code:

Causes:

• Cause of GBM is unknown.
• The main contributing factor appears to be an accumulation of genetic mutations which lead normal cells to develop into cancerous cells and these grow further to become a tumour.
• The cause of the mutations is unknown.

Mode of inheritance:

Prevalence:

Diagnosis:

• CT scan
• MRI
• Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)

Age of onset:

Common signs and symptoms:

• Persistent headaches
• Double or blurred vision
• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Changes in mood and personality
• Changes in ability to think and learn
• New onset of seizures
• Speech difficulty with gradual onset

Available treatment (medicinal and non-medicinal):

• The mainstay of treatment for GBMs is surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy.
• The primary objective of surgery is to remove as much of the tumour as possible without injuring the surrounding normal brain tissue needed for normal neurological function.
• After surgery when the wound is healed radiation therapy can begin. The goal of radiation therapy is to selectively kill the remaining tumour cells that have infiltrated the surrounding normal brain tissue.
• Chemotherapy with the drug temozolomide is the current standard for treatment for GBM designed to kill tumour cells.
• Tumour treating fields (TTFields) therapy is introduced during the maintenance phase of treatment. It creates alternating electrical fields which prevent growth and division of cancer cells.

References:

• https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0423022185
• https://braintumourresearch.org/pages/types-of-brain-tumours-glioblastoma-multiforme-gbm#:~:text=Glioblastoma%20multiforme%20(GBM)%20is%20theof%20cases%2C%20it%20is%20fatal.
• https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/glioblastoma-multiforme-gbm-advancing-treatment-for-a-dangerous-brain-tumor
• https://www.hkmj.org/abstracts/v28n5/396.htm
• https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and-Treatments/Glioblastoma-Multiforme
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17032-glioblastoma

Other useful websites:

• The Hong Kong Neuro-Oncology Society