Brain Cancer Like Kennedy's Is Difficult to Treat

Brain Cancer Like Kennedy's Is Difficult to Treat
Senator Ted Kennedy, 76 years old, has a glioma in an area where the best way to fight it may be with radiation and chemicals. Transcript of radio broadcast:
27 May 2008

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Last week doctors in Massachusetts announced that Senator Ted Kennedy has brain cancer.

The news came after he suffered a seizure. Doctors found a glioma, a growth in the supportive tissue of the brain. The glial tissue is where the largest percentage of brain tumors begin.
More than forty percent of growths in the brain are gliomas. But they make up almost eighty percent of cancerous growths, like the malignant glioma that Senator Kennedy has. Seizures and headaches are common first signs of a glioma.

Cancerous glial tumors generally spread in the brain the way roots spread from a plant. That makes removing the tumor more difficult. A clear border between the cancer and healthy tissue can be difficult to find.

The location of the glioma must also be considered when deciding treatment. Senator Kennedy’s tumor is in the left parietal lobe of the brain. This area is involved in some sensory understanding and spatial recognition, as well as language, reading and vision.

Removal of a glioma from this area can result in speech problems and other disabilities.

Some cancer experts believe that doctors are unlikely to operate on Senator Kennedy. They say the likely treatment is radiation and chemotherapy.

But chemical treatment for brain cancer is complex because of the protective blood-brain barrier. It stops some chemicals from entering the brain, including many chemo drugs.

Radiation treatments for brain cancer have improved a lot in recent years. New methods and equipment can permit extremely localized treatments that are less likely to damage healthy tissue.

Research into brain cancer treatment also includes drug therapy. In two thousand five, a drug called temozolomide was shown to add a few months to the lives of brain cancer patients.

And researchers are studying uses for the cancer drug Avastin. It is already used to treat breast, colon and lung cancer. It starves tumors by blocking blood flow to the growths.

The United States has about ten thousand new cancerous gliomas a year. Half of the people die within fifteen months. Malignant gliomas are more aggressive in older people.

Ted Kennedy is seventy-six years old. The senator competed Monday in the second half of a boat race in Massachusetts, finishing second in his five-boat division.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health report, written by Caty Weaver. Transcripts and MP3s of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Bob Doughty.

----------------------------Google Translate
脑癌一样，肯尼迪的是难以治疗
参议员特德肯尼迪， 76岁，有脑胶质瘤在一个领域的最佳途径争取它可能与辐射和化学品。全文电台广播：
2008年5月27日

这是美国之音特别英语卫生报告。

上周在马萨诸塞州的医生宣布，参议员特德肯尼迪已脑癌。

消息传出后，他遭受了扣押。医生发现了脑胶质瘤，增长，在支持组织的大脑。胶质组织，是最大的百分比脑肿瘤的开始。
超过40 ％的增长，在脑胶质瘤。但他们作出了几乎80 ％的癌细胞生长，如恶性胶质瘤参议员肯尼迪。缉获量和头痛是常见的第一迹象，一人脑胶质瘤。

胶质癌肿瘤一般蔓延，在大脑中扎根的方式蔓延，从植物。这使得消除肿瘤更为困难。一个明确的边界之间的癌症和健康组织则可能很难找到。

位置胶质瘤，还必须考虑时，决定治疗。参议员肯尼迪的肿瘤是在左顶叶脑。在这方面所涉及的一些感官的理解和空间的承认，以及语言，阅读和远见。

取消一人脑胶质瘤从这一领域可能会导致在讲话中的问题和其他残疾人。

有些癌症专家认为，医生是不可能运作的参议员肯尼迪。他们说，可能是治疗放疗和化疗。

但化学治疗脑癌是复杂的，因为保护血脑屏障。它停止某些化学品的进入大脑，其中包括许多化疗药物。

辐射治疗脑癌，已改善了很多，在近几年。新的方法和设备，可以允许极局部治疗，不太可能损害健康组织。

研究脑肿瘤治疗还包括药物治疗。在2000 5 ，所谓的药物替莫唑胺结果表明，添加了数个月，以生命的脑癌患者。

和研究人员正在研究用途为癌症药物Avastin的。它已经用于治疗乳腺癌，结肠癌和肺癌。它starves通过阻断肿瘤的血液流量生长。

美国大约有1.0万新的癌症脑胶质瘤1年。一半的人死于15个月。恶性胶质瘤是更积极在老年人身上。

特德肯尼迪是76年岁。参议员竞争，周一在下半年一划船赛在马萨诸塞州，第二名在他的五年船民记名表决。

这是该美国之音特别英语卫生报告，书面，由caty维夫。誊本的MP3和我们的报告是在voaspecialenglish.com 。我鲍勃doughty 。