Understanding A Glioma Diagnosis

A glioma is a type of tumor that originates in the central nervous system, specifically in the brain or spinal cord. These tumors originate in glial cells. Glial cells are supportive cells in the brain which serve to protect and maintain the neurons.

How glioma is treated depends on what sort of tumor a patient has as well as its grade, or how aggressive the tumor is considered. Treatment may involve surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or targeted therapies. Getting a glioma diagnosis is naturally very nerve-wracking, but there have been some promising developments in recent years, such as IDH inhibitors.

“The most important thing for everyone to understand is that there’s hope,” Dr. D. Ryan Ormond, a neurosurgeon at the University of Colorado in Denver, tells SurvivorNet.

In this in-depth overview, we provide insights from top oncologists and experts around the mountain states, who work in Colorado, Utah, Montana, and more regions around the Rockies, about what to expect when facing glioma — from diagnosis through how patients are monitored after treatment.