Types of Treatment for Brain Tumors

Different types of brain tumor treatments have different goals. Here is a list of treatments and their goals.

• Surgery. The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor while leaving as much of the brain as possible intact. Sometimes the surgeon cannot remove the whole tumor because it is near vital brain structures. Or, if the tumor has invaded the space like fingers of a glove, it is very difficult to cut out.

• Radiation therapy. The goal of radiation is to kill cancer cells using X-rays. Doctors use this treatment to shrink a tumor before surgery. They also use it to get rid of any cancer cells left after surgery.

• Chemotherapy. Doctors give chemotherapy after surgery to take out the tumor or after a biopsy. Its goal is to reduce the chance that the cancer will grow and spread. This is called adjuvant chemotherapy. Most of the time you take the chemotherapy drugs as pills. If you can’t have surgery, your doctor may still give you chemotherapy.

Surgery is the first step in treatment for most brain tumors. Surgery establishes an exact diagnosis. It also reduces the tumor volume. Radiation therapy targets remaining cancer cells in the area of the tumor.

Chemotherapy gets rid of tumor cells that have moved to other parts of the brain. A major obstacle for chemotherapy drugs to reach the brain is called the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is the tight sealing of blood vessels that help to prevent potentially hazardous substances from going to the brain. But there are ways to get around this barrier.

Doctors are finding new ways to treat brain tumors. These new methods are tested in clinical trials. Before beginning treatment, ask your doctor if there are any clinical trials you should consider.