It?s impossible to know how well Sen. Edward Kennedy will carry out his duties or how long he?ll live, experts say.
Kennedy, 76, was diagnosed this week with brain cancer, and the average life expectancy afterward is one to two years, but it can vary widely.
“We have to recognize that all malignant brain tumors are not the same,” said Dr. Barry Meisenberg, head of hematology and oncology with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “There?s a whole spectrum of malignancy that makes some of them very aggressive while others you could survive a long time.”
Treatment follows what doctors would do for any cancer ? chemotherapy and radiation, with some differences in treatment of cancerous brain and spinal tissue.
“The malignant cells divide so quickly and they mutate or change character so quickly that they overcome the treatment we throw at it,” said Dr. Neal Naff, chief of neurosurgery at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson.
Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after he had a seizure at his home Saturday. He was released Wednesday from Massachusetts General Hospital and has been recovering from his biopsy at the Kennedy family compound on Cape Cod.
A seizure or confusion are typical first symptoms of brain cancer, as there are no pain sensors inside the brain, Naff said. Symptoms can mimic Alzheimer?s disease.
In the left parietal lobe, where Kennedy?s tumor was found, damage could affect a person?s ability to speak and understand spoken language.
While the disease is incurable, vaccines have been found for some cancers spread by human papillomavirus, and researchers believe the body could be vaccinated to recognize and attack some cancerous tissues, Meisenberg said.
Another treatment focuses on cutting off the tumor?s blood supply.
Although brain tumors don?t spread outside the cranium, they need to actively attract new blood vessel growth to get their own food supply. Drugs are being developed to cut off new blood vessel growth, starving the tumor or at least slowing its growth.
