Patient: Hi doctor, my mother has been having headaches for the past four months, which have been worsening, forgetfulness, dizziness, nausea, and she fell on her right forehead in August 2008. I would like to know if a brain cyst can become a glioma, and how to treat a glioma. Is it possible to take medication without surgery? Doctor: You did not upload the image. Glioma is the most common malignant tumor in the brain, with a high incidence in the elderly. Although the cause of the disease is not clear, it may be due to the gradual accumulation of genetic mutations with age. There are many types of glioma, some of which can manifest as cysts on imaging. In general, the diagnosis of glioma can rely on CT and MRI, with MRI being more accurate, but the final diagnosis needs to rely on pathology. In general, a benign cyst (pathologically confirmed) is unlikely to become a glioma (pathologically confirmed) within a few months. There are many treatment options for glioma, and surgery is still the main method to reduce the size of the tumor or to provide time for radiotherapy after removal of the tumor. There are no effective drugs for glioma, but temozolomide can increase the sensitivity of radiotherapy. Patient: Thank you, doctor. Is the possibility of recurrence of glioma after surgery very high and are there sequelae after surgery that usually exist after surgery. Another question: The “tumor” in my mother’s brain has grown by 1 cm in three months, is this growth rate very unfavorable? Doctor: There are different levels of glioma. For low level, after complete resection, recurrence is rare. In high grade, surgery cannot remove all tumor cells because of infiltration, but if the patient is sensitive to temozolomide, the application of radiotherapy can significantly prolong the survival time. Glioma is usually surrounded with edema and also needs to be differentiated from many diseases. You can take MRI and CT films to our department next Wednesday or upload the films, although glioma is the most common disease in the brain, other possibilities need to be ruled out first.