Stanford Brain Tumor Center–

Treatment for Brain Tumors

Researchers at Stanford are finding new treatments for brain tumors and rapidly converting them to safe clinical practice. People with brain tumors now have more hope for a good quality of life than ever before. This is especially true at Stanford where we are committed to healing our patients through science and compassion together.

The Stanford Brain Tumor Center treatment team offers:

Who is on your treatment team?

We understand that patients who have received a new diagnosis of a brain tumor often feel overwhelmed. It’s important to be in a supportive environment such as ours throughout your journey.
Several different specialists will be coordinating on important aspects of your care.  Here are some definitions that will help you understand the responsibilities of the different members of your team:

You will also be supported by an excellent patient-care team who will help you with the coordination and scheduling of all of your appointments and your communication with the medical team.

What to Know About Your Treatment Choices for a Brain Tumor

The choices you have for treatment depend on these factors:

Your doctors will also consider the following factors when recommending a treatment plan.

Many people with brain cancer want to learn all they can about their disease and treatment choices so they can take an active part in decisions about their care. You are likely to have many questions and concerns about your treatment options. Below is a list of such questions you may want to ask the members of your team.

Treatment Options

Three types of standard treatment are used to treat brain tumors:

Surgery

Surgery is used to diagnose and treat adult brain tumors, and it is often the first step taken in treatment of a brain tumor. The neurosurgeon works to remove as much of the tumor as possible without affecting normal brain function.

Surgery alone, or surgery combined with radiation cures many brain tumors. Surgery can also help to reduce the symptoms of a brain tumor, even when the whole tumor cannot be removed or may regrow in the brain, as is common with two tumors commonly treated at our center, anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastomas.

When tumors are located deep within the brain, surgery may not be an option. Your physician at the Center will be able to explain all of these options to you very carefully so that you understand the decision being made.

At our advanced treatment center, we are able to use interoperative monitoring and computer targeted precise location to make sure that the surgery is highly successful in meeting its goal. These advanced techniques are not available at all hospitals but they are a routine part of treatment at Stanford whenever needed.

Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left.
Some of the advanced and innovative techniques used by Stanford Neurosurgeons include:

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells. External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the cancer. Brachytherapy involves placing radiation therapy, such as a wafer, at the site of the tumor during surgery. Stereotactic radiosurgery involves highly targeted radiation beams to try to kill the tumor without surgery. Two such systems are currently in operation at Stanford including CyberKnife developed at Stanford in 1992, and TrueBeam.  

Radiation therapy is sometimes used as a follow up after tumor removal to target remaining cells or to treat tumors where surgery is not possible.

Because Stanford physicians at the Brain Tumor Center are at the forefront of developing the newest methods for radiation and teaching them to other physicians, patients have access to some of the most advanced brain tumor radiology treatment in the world.

Chemotherapy and Targeted Medical Therapy

Chemotherapy, often referred to as "chemo," is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy). When chemotherapy is placed directly into the cerebrospinal fluid, or brain, the drugs mainly affect cancer cells in those areas (regional chemotherapy). Combination chemotherapy is treatment using more than one anticancer drug. To treat brain tumors, a dissolving wafer may be used to deliver an anticancer drug directly to the brain tumor site after the tumor has been removed by surgery. The way the chemotherapy is given depends on the type of tumor and where it is in the brain.

Targeted Therapy

As researchers have learned more about how our genes affect cancer growth, they have used this knowledge to fight brain tumors and other cancers. These newer treatments are showing some good effectiveness for treating tumors that may be resistant to other treatments. Many targeted therapies are used to slow down the growth of blood vessels in the tumor. This is effective because tumors need extra blood to grow larger.

Stanford Medicine Resources:

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