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Experts at the Brain Tumor Center offer the full range of diagnostic and treatment options for patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors.

Diagnosis

An accurate diagnosis is the critical first step toward building a care plan for each patient. Our doctors can identify and confirm the presence of a brain tumor through a physical examination, followed by a computerized tomography (CT) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

Highly sophisticated diagnostic techniques enable our physicians to pinpoint the precise location and shape of a brain tumor. For example, the University of Chicago Hospitals is one of the first cancer centers in the area to use the most current MRI as well as CT/PET imaging systems to provide a "picture" of brain activity that helps doctors diagnose and plan treatment for cancer patients. This advanced technology allows doctors to view hard-to-see tumors and improves the effectiveness of cancer treatments.

Another sophisticated computer-imaging tool--known as Stealth neuro-navigation--helps our surgeons perform safe biopsies and resections of tumors.

Treatment

Thanks to recent medical advances, people with brain tumors have many treatment options, including surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

At the University of Chicago, neurologists coordinate these options with our nationally recognized neurosurgeons and oncologists. This ensures that patients receive the most comprehensive treatment, tailored to their individual needs.

Surgery

Today, innovative, high-precision surgical techniques and tools enable University of Chicago neurosurgeons to operate on deep brain tumors that were once considered inoperable. Some of these newer techniques and tools include:

• The latest techniques in minimally invasive surgery, which offer shorter recovery times and fewer complications than traditional surgery. For example, surgeons may treat tumors using endoscopic techniques, which involve operating through a small incision using thin tubes, or catheters.
• A computerized neuro-navigation system, which allows for greater accuracy during procedures and allows for greater preservation of healthy tissue.
• Skull-base surgical techniques, which enable neurosurgeons to operate on some tumors located near the base of the skull without destroying vital brain-stem functions.
• Spinal neurosurgery for removing tumors of the spine and spinal cord.
• The full range of conventional and complex open skull surgeries to treat tumors, brain swelling, seizures, and other conditions.

Radiation

Even when surgery appears to have removed a malignant tumor, neurosurgeons often recommend radiation therapy to ensure destruction of any stray cancer cells that might remain. For benign tumors, radiation therapy may be used to slow or halt tumor growth, or to treat a recurring tumor.

At the University of Chicago Hospitals, adults and children with brain tumors have access to the most sophisticated radiation therapies. State-of-the-art linear accelerators and other technologies are designed to destroy as much of the tumor as possible, while causing minimal damage to surrounding healthy brain tissues.

Some of these advanced radiation therapies available include:

• Stereotaxis (or "stereotactic") radiosurgery, which utilizes computer imaging of the tumor without any incisions. This helps doctors more accurately target a high-dose radiation beam directly on the tumor.
• Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), a new, highly precise form of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, which uses computers and multiple beams to “shape” radiation to the treatment area. IMRT also helps "turn up" the radiation dose on tumor areas while excluding sensitive regions, such as the brain stem and spinal cord.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy medications target cells as they are dividing and reproducing, and are most appropriate for malignant tumors. Different types of brain tumors respond to different types of chemotherapy.

But sometimes, the brain itself can compromise the effectiveness of chemotherapy. The problem is caused by the blood-brain barrier, a network of blood vessels that protects the brain and blocks foreign substances from reaching the brain. Thus, the brain-blood barrier can hinder chemotherapeutic agents from reaching the brain. To solve this problem, physicians at the University of Chicago Hospitals are testing new drugs that will help chemotherapy medicines "hurdle" that blood-brain barrier.

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