Diagnosis of Brain Cancer, Brain Cancer

·         Myelogram—This is an x-ray of the spine. A spinal tap is performed to inject a special dye into the cerebrospinal fluid. The patient is tilted to allow the dye to mix with the fluid. This test helps the doctor detect a tumor in the spinal cord.

·         Biopsy—The removal of tissue to look for tumor cells is called a biopsy. A pathologist looks at the cells under a microscope to check for abnormal cells

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·         A biopsy can show cancer, tissue changes that may lead to cancer, and other conditions. A biopsy is the only sure way to diagnose a brain cancer

Surgeons can obtain tissue to look for tumor cells in three ways:

·         Needle biopsy—The surgeon makes a small incision in the scalp and drills a small hole into the skull. This is called a burr hole. The doctor passes a needle through the burr hole and removes a sample of tissue from the brain cancer

·         Stereotactic biopsy—An imaging device, such as CT or MRI, guides the needle through the burr hole to the location of the tumor.

·          The surgeon withdraws a sample of tissue with the needle.

·         Biopsy at the same time as treatment—Sometimes the surgeon takes a tissue sample when the patient has surgery to remove the tumor.

Sometimes a biopsy is not possible. If the tumor is in the brain stem or certain other areas, the surgeon may not be able to remove tissue from the tumor without damaging normal brain tissue. The doctor uses MRI, CT, or other imaging tests instead.