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Brain Tumor

Treatment for brain tumors depends on a number of factors including the type, location and size of the tumor as well as the patient's age and general health. Treatment methods and schedules differ for children and adults.

Brain tumors are treated with surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Our doctors also are studying a vaccine for treating a recurrent cancer of the central nervous system that occurs primarily in the brain, known as glioma.

Depending on your needs, several methods may be used. Our team includes neurosurgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses, a dietitian and a social worker, who work together to provide the best possible care.

Before treatment begins, most patients are given steroids, drugs that relieve swelling or edema. Your may receive anticonvulsant medicine to prevent or control seizures.

If hydrocephalus is present, you may need a shunt to drain cerebrospinal fluid. A shunt is a long, thin tube placed in a ventricle of the brain and then threaded under the skin to another part of the body, usually the abdomen. It works like a drainpipe. Excess fluid is carried away from the brain and is absorbed in the abdomen. In some cases, the fluid is drained into the heart.






Radiation Therapy








Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles. A treatment period is followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period and so on. Patients often don't need to stay in the hospital for treatment and most drugs can be given in the doctor's office or clinic. However, depending on the drugs used, the way they are given and the patient's general health, a short hospital stay may be necessary.


Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.

Related Information

UCSF Clinics & Centers

Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Neurology and Neurosurgery

400 Parnassus Ave., Eighth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143
Phone: (415) 353-2966
Fax: (415) 353-2167
Appointment information

400 Parnassus Ave., Eighth Floor
San Francisco, CA 94143
Phone: (415) 353-7500
Fax: (415) 353-2889
Appointment information

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