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Brain & Skull Base Tumor Treatments

Experience Personalized Brain and Skull Base Tumor Care

Discovering you have a brain or skull base tumor is a life-changing experience. Treatment at Emory Healthcare can be a lifesaving one.

The Winship Brain Tumor Center at Emory Healthcare offers top-ranked brain, spine and skull base tumor experts.

We are the only program in Georgia with full membership to two national clinical research groups. This grants us—and you—access to the latest clinical trials and new drug research.

Our collaborative team is trained in the most innovative technologies and therapies. This is critical since brain and skull base tumors are among the most difficult forms of cancer to treat.

If you have a brain or skull base tumor, you and your loved ones deserve to be comfortable and confident in your treatment plan and team. At Emory Healthcare, our expert specialists offer several care options.

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Clinical Trials for New Treatments and Technologies

You may have a brain or skull base tumor that is hard to cure or has come back despite aggressive treatment. But there is still hope.


Emory Healthcare offers eligible patients the opportunity to participate in clinical trials. We have the largest clinical trial portfolio in Georgia via Winship Cancer Institute, spanning a large variety of brain tumors. Clinical trials can give you access to treatments that are not widely available or when you have exhausted other options. Talk to your doctor about whether a clinical trial is right for you.

Neurosurgery for Brain and Skull Tumor Treatments

A neurosurgeon can remove certain brain tumors, depending on your tumor’s location. Surgical options for removal depend on the grade and location of your tumor. Your doctor may recommend:

  • This minimally invasive procedure uses MRI to guide a laser to destroy affected tissue in your brain.
  • For this noninvasive procedure, your surgeon aims highly focused doses of radiation at the tumor to minimize side effects to your brain and spine.
  • Surgeons use nerve mapping and reconstruction or fusion to remove some spinal tumors through small incisions.
  • This minimally invasive surgery uses a small tube to insert a camera and light (endoscope) into your brain through your nose. The endoscope helps the surgeon see your tumor and operate without opening the skull.
  • This endoscopic surgery lets surgeons access the base of your skull tumor through a tube we insert into your nose.
  • Doctors inject or insert radioactive material near or inside your tumor to treat your cancer. This is usually painless and minimally invasive.
  • This technique helps your neurosurgeon better see your tumor during an operation.
  • We use electrostimulation to identify and protect your brain during surgery.
  • This procedure allows your surgeon to preserve your speech and movement while removing your tumor. It is also called awake craniotomy.
  • We take images of your brain using different methods and technologies. Your doctor can observe and analyze your brain function from different points of view. It can also help guide your surgery.
Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy for Brain and Skull Base Tumors

Your neurologist may recommend chemo or radiation to shrink or kill tumor cells in your brain or around your skull. The Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University offer several types of radiation therapy, including:

  • We treat cancerous cells by targeting radiation at the impacted area. This is also called intensity-modulated radiotherapy and on-board imaging.
  • We use this treatment to deliver extremely precise, high dose of radiation to the site of your tumor. That precision keeps the surrounding tissue and organs healthy.
  • This non-invasive radiotherapy targets abnormal tissue while preserving healthy tissue around it. Patients receive treatment in a single outpatient setting, allowing for a quick recovery and minimal disruption to their daily lives. Emory Healthcare is the first in Georgia and one of only seven hospitals in the nation equipped with Gamma Knife technology.

Brain and Skull Base Tumor Conditions

Tumors of the brain, spine and skull range from small and benign to fast-growing and cancerous. Understand the signs, risks and options available for your condition.

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Refer a Patient to Emory Neurology & Neurosurgery

Our team is dedicated to serving you and your patients.

To make a referral or discuss a neurology patient, please call 404-778-3444.

For our neurosurgery team, please call 404-778-5770.

Neurology & Neurosurgery

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Make an Appointment with Emory Neurology & Neurosurgery

Create a MyChart account to schedule online.

For the neurology department, call 404-778-3444.

For the neurosurgery department, call 404-778-5770.

network_intelligence

Make an Appointment with Emory Neurology & Neurosurgery

Create a MyChart account to schedule online.

For the neurology department, call 404-778-3444.

For the neurosurgery department, call 404-778-5770.