Medical experts speaking at Brain Tumour UK’s10th annual conference told patients and carers that research into treatments is developing at a rapid pace.

Talking about the latest advances in neuro-imaging techniques, Alan Jackson, Professor of Neuroradiology at the University of Manchester, said the advances made it possible to diagnose tumours better and earlier than ever before.

Other experts talked about better treatments including the interaction between radiotherapy and chemotherapy and the latest techniques used by neurosurgeons in deciding whether or not to operate on a patient.

More than 130 people affected by brain tumours attended the conference at the De Vere Hotel in Blackpool on July 7 and 8.

Brain tumour patient Ted Sanderson, and his partner Diane Bird, attended the conference. Ted said: “The conference meant a great deal to both of us, but especially to me. It has helped to restore my confidence and made me feel more cheerful and eager to get on with things, go out and meet people.”

Ted adds that he often worried that people would think that he is “stupid” and lose patience with him, because of the problems he has with speech. “It’s easy to become very isolated. The conference has made me feel more connected to other people again,” he said.

Brain Tumour UK’s Head of Support Services Moira Dennison said: “The conference has been a fantastic opportunity for patients and carers to get access to the latest information about their illness and share their stories with people who are in a similar position, in a supportive, relaxed environment.”

• Were you at the conference? Let us know your thoughts? What have you taken from the conference and what would you like to see changed in the future? E-mail us at enquiries@braintumouruk.org.uk.
  

Media reports linking brain tumours to the use of mobile phones have surfaced again, with claims of a “brain tumour pandemic” unless people change their patterns of mobile phone use.

The latest claim was made by Lloyd Morgan, a researcher for U.S. campaign group, the Environmental Health Trust, who says previous studies “underestimated” the cancer risks.

Morgan's claim comes in the wake of a much wider study by the World Health Organisation published in May 2010, called Interphone, which looked back over many years of mobile phone use across different studies in many countries.

The Interphone study found small associations with some brain tumour types, but the authors acknowledged that the biases in these studies make it difficult to say there is actually a risk.
Trevor Lawson, Brain Tumour UK head of communications, says:
“Brain Tumour UK regularly reviews the scientific evidence on the potential health risks of mobile phone usage. The radiation from mobiles is called non-ionising, low-frequency radiation, and is quite different from the ionising, high-frequency radiation from, say, X-ray machines.”

Mobile phone radiation is not thought to be sufficient to break genetic bonds and cause brain tumours to occur. However, some scientists think there could be a risk to children or from long-term use of mobiles and are trying to assess that risk, he says.
“Measuring risk is difficult. Nobody wants to expose real children or adults to increasingly high levels of radiation - that would be unethical.”

According to Lawson, another problem with these studies is that they can easily be biased.
“One kind of bias is called recall bias. It is really hard to remember, accurately, how many minutes a day you used your phone five or ten years ago,” he says.

Another problem is selection bias. Studies which choose people with brain tumours are more likely to get biased answers if they tell those people that the study is about mobile phones and brain tumours.

A Drug Alert has been issued, recalling some Temozolomide capsules made by Hospira. This follows reports of the capsules splitting and leaking powder.

If you have this medicine at home, you should not open the pack. If a capsule is damaged, you should avoid contact of the powder with your skin, eyes and nose and avoid inhaling the powder. If you accidentally get some on your skin, wash with soap and water or in the case of contact with the eyes or nose, wash with water only. If irritation persists you should seek medical advice.

You should be able to obtain an alternative prescription and get your medicine replaced.

Affected batch numbers are:
L00828 - 5 mg
L00829 - 20 mg
L00831 - 100 mg
L01031 - 250 mg

Join us for a great day out in our stunning capital city running past its most famous landmarks. 26,000 people from all walks of life and every level of running ability take on this popular run every year including Olympic and world champions, TV and film celebrities, as well as fitness enthusiasts and charity fun runners.

We have guaranteed places available and have already organised our after party near the finish line so click here to get involved – we look forward to cheering you on and meeting up with you at the end!

A new Brain Tumour UK Neuro-Oncology Research Centre has opened today (10 February) at the University of Wolverhampton. And you can help our campaign to raise £500,000 to fund its essential scientific research.

The new centre combines the high grade brain tumour research team led by Professor John Darling at Wolverhampton with Dr Tracy Warr’s low grade and childhood brain tumour research team from the Institute of Neurology at University College London.

“We will develop new agents to target high grade brain tumours and learn how low grade brain tumours mutate into malignant tumours,” explains Professor Darling. “We expect to be able to share a huge amount of information and discoveries with Tracy’s team, which is already identifying genes involved in childhood brain tumours.”

In an exciting development, Tracy’s team has already identified a significant gene in nine out of ten malignant astrocytomas. “If this gene could be turned off, it could bring signif icant benefits to patients with malignant glioma,” says Tracy.