What are recurrent tumors?
Recurrent tumors grow back after being removed or stabilized. Recurrence commonly occurs in the same area as the original tumor, but may develop in another part of the brain or spinal cord. Both benign and malignant brain tumors can recur after initial treatment. A brain tumor that has been treated with radiation or chemotherapy may disappear or remain in remission, a state in which the tumor cells stop multiplying. Remission can be temporary or permanent. It is not possible to predict whether or not recurrence will take place. Therefore, after receiving therapy the patient will need to have follow-up appointments indefinitely, usually with MRI imaging, even if the tumor was benign.
Tumor recurrence is a term that describes any of three conditions. 1. A recurrent tumor may be a tumor that still persists after primary treatment – a tumor that does not respond to surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy or a combination of these therapies. 2. Alternatively, it may be a tumor that grows back some time after therapy has seemed to destroy it. 3. A new tumor that grows in the same place as the original one is also called a “recurrent” tumor because it is difficult, often impossible, to distinguish its cells from the cells of the original tumor. Once treated, a brain tumor may remain in remission for many years, or may never recur. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to predict whether, or when, any particular tumor may recur, which is why lifelong medical monitoring is essential for people treated for a brain tumor, even for a benign lesion.
These are tumors that have come back after remission. This is a common event for high-grade astrocytomas (anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastoma multiforme), and these recurrences are now treated with a variety of new drugs that were not available as recently as five years ago. This implies that if you have a recurrent primary brain tumor, you should aggressively seek a physician who is comfortable treating this problem with the latest agents that are available (see below).
Recurrent tumors are those that grow back after being surgically removed or stabilized. They can be either benign or malignant, although the latter is more common. Recurrent brain tumors often appear in the same area where the original tumor developed, but they may also develop in another part of the brain or spinal cord. It is impossible to predict whether or not a tumor will recur, and therefore, routine follow-ups (e.g., MRIs) are a necessity for all brain tumor patients.
