Brain Tumor Center

If you or a loved one is facing a diagnosis of brain cancer, it’s important to know that the Brain Tumor Center at UMass Memorial provides state-of-the-art treatment for patients with primary and metastatic tumors of the brain and spinal cord.

In fact, our brain tumor surgeons have been recruited from the top cancer centers in the world. As a result, the Brain Tumor Center at UMass Memorial has become one of the premier brain tumor treatment programs in the region.

This means you have convenient, close-to-home access to an internationally recognized team of neurosurgeons, neuropathologists, radiation oncologists, oncologists and other experts who work together to develop a comprehensive treatment plan tailored to your unique needs—and delivered with skill and compassion.

Brain Tumors We Treat

At UMass Memorial’s Brain Tumor Center, we care for patients with all types of benign or malignant tumors involving the brain, pituitary gland, cranial nerves, skull, peripheral nerves, spine and spinal cord. This includes:

• Glioma
• Meningioma
• Metastases
• Malignant fibrous tumor
• Schwannoma
• Pituitary adenoma
• Craniopharyngioma
• Rathke’s cleft cyst
• Choroid plexus papilloma/carcinoma
• Skull lesions
• Hemangioblastoma
• Ependymoma
• Subependymoma
• Epidermoid/dermoid
• Pineal tumors

Services We Offer

The UMass Memorial Brain Tumor Center offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment capabilities, including: 

• In conjunction with neuropathology, we use advanced diagnostic technology such as DNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry and genetic testing to obtain detailed molecular analyses of brain tumors. Often referred to as molecular fingerprinting, this enables us to develop a truly individualized treatment plan for each patient in order to optimize the response to treatment.
• In collaboration with Radiation Oncology, we offer a range of radiation therapy options, including stereotactic radiosurgery which, in some cases, can control the growth of certain brain or spinal tumors without the need for traditional surgery
• Traditional open surgery, including craniotomy, and minimally invasive approaches such as laser ablation and neuroendoscopy, in which the neurosurgeon removes the tumor through small holes in the skull or through the mouth or nose

Groundbreaking Brain Tumor Research

In addition to providing state-of-the-art care for brain tumor patients, our doctors and scientists are conducting groundbreaking research in order to increase our understanding of brain tumors, and develop new and more effective treatments.

Current studies are focused on the growth, survival and response to treatment of gliomas, meningiomas and metastases (cancer that has spread to the brain from another site). Additional National Institutes of Health-funded studies are examining how the brain responds to therapy, and we’re developing new treatment strategies designed to cure these tumors.

Click here to learn more about Neurosurgery services at Umass Memorial Medical Center.

To schedule an appointment or contribute to our brain tumor research program, please call 508-334-0605.