At UPMC, we take a 360° approach to treating brain tumors and lesions.
Before deciding on a treatment option, we look at your condition from every direction to find the path that is least disruptive to your brain, critical nerves, and ability to return to normal functioning.
Treatments vary depending on the type and location of your brain tumor.
Treatments for brain tumors include:
Our neurosurgical team may recommend a combination of surgical and non-surgical approaches to maximize the benefits of surgery while minimizing risks.
UPMC neurosurgeons remove brain tumors surgically, whenever possible.
Several minimally invasive surgical options allow us to access areas that previously were difficult or impossible to reach.
In addition to minimally invasive approaches, UPMC's neurosurgical team is trained and experienced in all traditional approaches to the brain, so they can develop the best treatment and removal plan to allow you to return to normal life.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a painless procedure that uses hundreds of highly focused radiation beams to target tumors and lesions within the brain, without making a surgical incision.
UPMC is the nation’s leading provider of Gamma Knife procedures. Over its 25-year history at UPMC, Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery has been used to treat nearly 12,000 patients with benign or malignant brain tumors, vascular malformations, pain, and other functional problems.
Since brain surgery isn't always a treatment option, we commonly use radiation to treat brain tumors.
We deliver radiation therapy in two ways:
Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells.
Depending on the type and stage of brain cancer, chemotherapy may be: