Glioblastoma is an astrocytoma, one of the types of glioma tumors that occur in the brain or spinal cord. They develop from the glial cells (thus “glioma”) that support the brain and its functions. Glioblastoma tumors are particularly dangerous and malignant. This is largely because the astrocytes (a type of glial cell) the tumor develops from are in charge of holding neurons still and sending out nutrients. This means the cancerous cells of the tumor can make their own blood, making it an extremely fast growing tumor.
While doctors and scientists know how they form, they still don’t know what causes glioblastomas, just as with many kinds of cancers. What they do know is that the tumor may form when there are abnormalities on chromosomes 10 and 17. There are, however, certain risk factors that have been identified.
Genetic Factors
While having a family member develop glioblastoma doubles the chances of another family member developing the tumor, it does not tend to have a hereditary factor. The findings about abnormal chromosomes may explain this hereditary-yet-not-hereditary element. Additionally, men are more likely to be diagnosed with glioblastoma than women, and age plays a very high factor. While it can affect a person of any age, children account for only 10% of cases. Those between the ages of 60 and 80 are most likely to develop this type of tumor.
However, it is important to note there are two types of glioblastoma—primary and secondary. While the primary type is more malignant and appears as a grade four tumor immediately, secondary glioblastoma starts as a grade two or three and grows more slowly into grade four.
Secondary glioblastomas are more common in those below the age of 45, which while not necessarily fortunate, does at least provide more time for attempting treatment than the highly malignant primary glioblastoma. Unfortunately, secondary glioblastoma only accounts for about 10% of all glioblastomas. The highest incidences of this tumor occur in white people, while the lowest rate appears in those of Asian decent.
External Factors
There is little that can be done about factors like age, race, and gender. However, researchers have found that being in contact with ionizing radiation increases the chances of developing glioblastoma greatly. Not all radiation increases this susceptibility; that connected with cell phones, power lines, and radio waves is a different type of radiation. Ionizing radiation is that responsible for atomic bombs and, ironically, treating certain types of cancer—including brain cancer.
