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Brain Tumor Center |
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Brain Tumor Research |
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Neuro-Oncology |
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Neurology |
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Radiation Oncology |
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“Patients
receive the best multidisciplinary care and access to novel
therapies because we’re at the forefront of brain tumor
research.”
Tracy Batchelor, MD, MPH, executive director of the Pappas
Center
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Abnormal
DNA in
brain tumor cells.
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INNOVATIONS
IN TECHNOLOGIES, TECHNIQUES AND TREATMENTS FOR
BRAIN TUMORS
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How
do you solve a jigsaw puzzle, ride a bicycle or
remember the smell of roses? How do you keep breathing
when you are asleep? The brain orchestrates it all.
Yet even the maestro of the body, like the organs
it directs, is vulnerable to cancer. When brain
tumors develop, patients need all the options that
medicine can offer. The world-renowned physician-scientists
at the Stephen E. and Catherine Pappas Center for
Neuro-Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital
Cancer Center are discovering new therapies every
year to achieve the best outcomes and quality of
life for people with brain tumors. |
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At
the Pappas Center, experts from the Departments of Neurosurgery,
Radiation Oncology, Pathology and the Division of Neuro
Oncology work together to provide comprehensive care for
adults with tumors of the nervous system as well as the
neurological complications of cancer. The center is a
national leader in translating research discoveries from
the laboratory into new clinical therapeutics for malignant
brain tumors. It also runs one of the few National Cancer
Institute-sponsored research fellowship programs in the
country dedicated to training future generations of neuro-oncologists. |
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“Patients
receive the best multidisciplinary care and access to
novel therapies because we’re at the forefront of
brain tumor research,” says Tracy Batchelor, MD,
MPH, executive director of the Pappas Center. That research
has yielded innovations across the therapeutic spectrum
— from new radiation technologies and surgical techniques
to medical treatments using molecularly targeted drugs. |
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PROTON
THERAPY ADAPTED FOR BRAIN TUMORS
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Although
radiation is the standard treatment for brain tumors,
not all radiation departments offer the same expertise.
Specialization, says Jay Loeffler, MD, chief of the Department
of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital
and Herman and Joan Suit Professor of Radiation Oncology
at Harvard Medical School, is what distinguishes his department
from others in the country. “We have specialists
in adult malignant brain tumors, adult benign tumors,
skull base tumors, and pediatric brain tumors.” |
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Loeffler
himself is an international leader in the field of brain
tumor radiation. “We also have the most sophisticated
technology,” he adds, “and it’s adapted
specifically for brain tumors.” Loeffler is referring
to technology available at the Francis H. Burr Proton
Therapy Center at the Cancer Center, which treats both
adults and children with brain tumors. Proton therapy
targets beams of charged particles (protons) at tumors,
especially those situated near critical brain structures,
such as the centers for speech and movement. During therapy,
proton beams from multiple directions pass through custom-made
openings that correspond to the unique shape of the tumor,
as determined by three-dimensional MRI and CT scans. Other
devices control the penetration of protons so that the
greatest amount of the therapeutic dose falls within the
tumor, where the protons are absorbed. “Unlike X-rays,
protons enter tissue, hit the target, and stop,”
explains Loeffler. “For benign tumors and certain
tumors of the skull base, proton therapy is clearly superior
to X-ray therapy.” Unlike the few other proton therapy
centers in the country, he adds, “We specialize in
specific disease sites, which is enormously important.” |
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Brain
cancer is relatively rare, with 20,500 new cases in 2007. |
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Prognosis
and treatment vary greatly based on patient age and tumor
grade. |
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Brain
tumors are easier to treat or even cure in children than
in adults. |
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Glioma,
one common form of brain cancer, also has various subtypes,
including glioblastoma. |
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Glioblastoma,
the most aggressive glioma and most common brain cancer
in adults, strikes 10,000 new patients a year in the U.S. |
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Advancing
the Specialized Care of Individuals with Brain
Tumors
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MGH
Brain Tumor Center
Yawkey Building 9th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts, 02114
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Patients
& Families with questions about referrals, consultations
or appointments may contact:
Telephone: 617.724.8770
Fax: 617.724.8769
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Physicians
with
questions may contact:
Tracy Batchelor, M.D.
Executive Director,
MGH Brain Tumor Center
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| MassGeneral.org |
| MGH
Cancer Center |
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| “We
have the most sophisticated technology, proton beam therapy,
and it’s adapted specifically for brain tumors.” |
Jay
Loeffler, MD
Chief, Department of
Radiation Oncology |
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