THE TV presenter and actress Annabel Giles died in November 2023 having been diagnosed with a brain tumour in July.
Annabel, 64, had developed an aggressive malignant brain tumour known as giloblastoma.
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What is glioblastoma?
Glioblastomas are a fast-growing type of brain tumour, according to Cancer Research UK.
They are the most common type of cancerous, malignant, brain tumour in adults.
Glioblastomas are a type of brain tumour that belongs to a group of brain tumours called gliomas.
The tumours develop from glial cells.
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Glial cells are the supporting cells of the brain and the spinal cord.
The cancer starts in the brain and almost never spreads to other parts of the body.
However, the bad news is that due to its complexity it makes it difficult to treat.
The main treatments for glioblastomas are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, either individually or as a combination of treatments.
But is also resistant to treatment, as the cells within the tumour are not all of the same type.
There are no known causes of glioblastoma, as is the case with most brain tumours, and so there is no clear way to prevent the disease.
More than 2,000 people are diagnosed with the aggressive tumour each year in the UK, according to University College London.
It’s rare for someone diagnosed to survive beyond five years.
How long can you have glioblastoma before experiencing symptoms?
In the early stages symptoms can be quite non-specific.
Due to the complexity of the brain, which controls so many different functions, the symptoms experienced can vary depending on where the tumour is located.
Sufferers can also mistake their symptoms for other health issues such as stress or even possibly a hangover.
Symptoms though can deteriorate rapidly though, and even progressing to unconsciousness.
Brain Tumour Research says tumours increase pressure in the skull, causing headaches.
Symptoms to be aware of:
- Headaches
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of balance
- Mood swings
- Problems speaking
- Problems with memory or concentration
- Seizures
- Impaired vision
Medical research has not yet pinpointed exactly when the first signs of glioblastoma start to appear in the brain.
One study indicated that a glioblastoma starts growing 330 days on average – almost a year – before a diagnosis.
Another found that there are changes in immune function up to five years before a diagnosis, with markers in blood samples – but symptoms only occur three months prior.
What is the life expectancy of someone with glioblastoma?
Gliomas are put into groups and graded, according to how quickly they are likely to grow.
All glioblastomas are grade 4, meaning they are fast growing, cancerous tumours.
Once detected, experts can see them double within seven weeks.
For the majority of people diagnose with glioblastoma, their life expectancy is put between 12 to 15 months.
The figures show though that 25 per cent of patients manage to survive more than a year.
Although just five per cent survive more than five years, according to Brain Tumour Research.
Why some people live longer than others is not yet known.
“Less than one per cent of all patients with a glioblastoma live for more than ten years, so in the majority of cases, it is fatal,” the charity says.
The life expectancy of those who opt not to have treatment are expected to live for around three months.
There is some hope for the future, as medics in October 2022 discovered a new treatment that could help stop aggressive brain tumours in their tracks.
Researchers in Virginia, US, said the development was “promising”.
In January 2023, a new vaccine was also developed to both kill and prevent brain cancer.
The treatment works by genetically altering cancer cells and transforming them into cancer killers and vaccines, to stop the disease from coming back.
In experiments, it worked on mice carrying cells derived from humans – mimicking what will happen in patients.
The US team behind it, described the results as “promising”.