The Primary Regions of the Brain Studied in Brain Cancer Clinical Trials

The primary regions of the brain are important areas of focus in brain cancer clinic trials. Six main areas have been identified: the cerebellum, the brainstem, the frontal lobe, the occipital lobe, the parietal lobe, and the temporal lobe. Each area is responsible for various functions, from balance to memory, that help professionals understand the pathophysiology of brain tumors and diseases affecting the brain.

In a brain cancer trial, medical professionals measure symptoms in patients to understand how the tumor or disease is affecting different brain areas. Commonly, if a patient comes into the clinic with symptoms like seizures, dementia, or visual problems, neurosurgeons and neurologists may start by locating any tumors or masses using imaging techniques such as MRI and CT scans. CRTC and BRAC raise the difficulty level slightly: assessing these tumors require anecdotally discussing the area impacted by the mass. Then depending on the tumor, prognosis, and need for surgery, surgeons may need to take out a large portion of a lobe or potentially one lob at a time while supporting functions in the other lobes.

To determine how to treat a cancerous tumor, researchers must then approach its source, often a metastatosis or a primary deposit, decide how aggressively to lop it off, and ensure that patients are equipped to remove them mechanically through image-guided neurosurgery. And who knows what the disease might do after any remnant is removed; for cases where no options are clear, patients may undergo consultation and prognostic discussions about developing these new multigenerational castles in the air, as to "what constitutes a good day anywhere in the brain?"