Services

The MGH Brain Tumor Center: A coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach to the care of adult and pediatric patients with tumors of the nervous system as well as neurologic complications of cancer.

Malignant Tumors: Information regarding malignant tumors of the brain, spine, and peripheral nerves.

Benign Tumors: Information about benign brain tumors including meningioma, epidermoid, dermoid, hemangioblastoma, colloid cyst, subependymal giant cell astrocytoma, pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma, and craniopharyngioma.

The BTC works closely with related treatment center at MGH including the following centers:

The Neuroendocrine Clinical Center provides a multidisciplinary approach to patients with pituitary and hypothalamic disorders. Endocrinologists, Neurologists, and Neurosurgeons participate in the management of such patients. The Center is a national referral center for the evaluation and treatment of pituitary tumors, recurrent pituitary adenomas, and tumors or disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary region. The Center is ideally suited for the referral of patients with pituitary tumors, including prolactinomas, Cushing's disease, acromegaly, nonfunctioning pituitary tumors, recurrent pituitary adenomas, and pituitary and hypothalamic disorders which lead to adrenal, thyroid, ovarian, or testicular deficiency. Patients can be referred for the development of a treatment plan in conjunction with their primary physician, for a second opinion, or for ongoing management by the Center physicians.

A joint program of the Departments of Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery, and Radiation Oncology dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of patients with cranial base lesions. This page includes links to information on the treatment of skull base lesions including acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) and other tumors.

The MGH Pediatric Neurosurgery Unit specializes in the surgical treatment of pediatric brain and spinal tumors--in conjunction with a team including pedatric neuroncologists and pediatric medical oncologists. Surgery of developmental anomalies presenting prenatally, in infancy, childhood, or adulthood including tethered spinal cord, spina bifida, syringomyelia (syrinx), myelomeningocele, hydrocephalus, normal pressure hydrocephalus, craniosynostosis, lipoma, dermal sinus, encephalocele, aqueductal stenosis, myeloschisis, lipomyelomeningocele, split cord malformation, diastematomyelia, Klippel-Feil syndrome, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts [including ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) and ventriculo atrial (VA) shunts], Dandy-Walker cyst, and Arnold-Chiari malformation are also a focus of this group of neurosurgeons.

The Proton Beam Unit was founded in 1962 and has the largest experience with stereotactic radiosurgery of any center in the United States.  Proton beam offers certain theoretical advantages over other modalities of stereotactic radiosurgery (i.e. gamma knife and linear accelerators) because it makes use of the quantum wave properites of protons to reduces doses to surrounding tissue beyond the target to a theoretical minimum of zero.  In practice, the proton facility offers advantages for the treatment of unusually shaped brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations. The homogeneous doses delivered also makes fractionated therapy possible. Proton beam radiosurgery also has the ability to treat tumors outside of the cranial cavity. These properties make it the ideal post-resection therapy for many chordomas and certain chondrosarcomas of the spine and skull base as well as an excellent mode of therapy for many other types of tumors.