Glioblastoma(GBM)

GBM is a type of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in the brain or spinal cord. It grows quickly and can invade and destroy healthy tissue. Glioblastoma forms from cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells. Glioblastoma can happen at any age.

The average glioblastoma survival time is 12-18 months – only 25% of patients survive more than one year, and only 5% of patients survive more than five years. Most people diagnosed with glioblastoma have no family history of cancerous brain tumors. There's no cure for GBM. Treatments might slow cancer growth and reduce symptoms.

If one has a glioblastoma headache, pain may be experienced  shortly after waking up. The pain is persistent and tends to get worse whenever one coughs, change positions or exercise. One may also experience throbbing—although this depends on where the tumor is located—as well as vomiting.

Glioblastomas can sometimes grow for nearly a year before symptoms suddenly manifest

GBM can arise in the optic nerve, optic chiasm, or optic tract as a malignant optic glioma. Malignant optic glioma affecting the optic nerve can present as loss of visual acuity or visual field deficits in the ipsilateral eye, loss of color vision, and RAPD. Orbital involvement can also present with proptosis.

GBM Glioblastoma is an aggressive tumor associated with a high rate of recurrence even after maximal therapy. In a disease with poor prognosis and rapid deterioration, early detection of tumor progression is necessary to make timely treatment decisions or to initiate end of life care.  Visual field testing defects predate magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography findings of tumor progression by months in glioblastoma multiforme. New or worsening visual field defects may indicate signs of tumor progression in GBM and should prompt further investigation.

Symptoms of GBM may appear slowly and be quite subtle, at first. Patients with GBM may present with headaches, confusion, memory loss, motor weakness and seizures. Other patient complaints include nausea, personality changes, difficulty concentrating, hemiparesis, vision loss and aphasia. SEE a Neurologist or Neurosurgeon ASAP if you suspect GBM in yourself or someone else. DO NOT DELAY. SEEK HELP ASAP.

Author

Paddy Kalish OD, JD and B.Arch