Our approach to brain tumor treatment
Brain tumor treatment at Penn: where experience meets innovation
At Penn Medicine, our approach to brain tumor care combines established treatments from renowned experts with the latest research-driven innovations. You will not only have access to the most trusted therapies, but also to the most promising advancements in treatment through our clinical trial program, including several treatment options pioneered here at Penn. Each one of your care options is carefully considered by our multidisciplinary tumor board and applied by the most experienced doctors in the country.
Our patients have the peace of mind of knowing that a team of nationally recognized clinicians are coming together to give them the best treatment available, no matter what type of care they need.
Accurate answers, confident decisions for brain tumor treatment
If you have symptoms that suggest a brain tumor, an accurate brain tumor diagnosis is essential to developing the right treatment plan. Whether you’re at the start of your treatment journey, or you’re seeking a second opinion to decide your best care options, we’re here to give you answers that help you confidently make your decision. Our brain tumor specialists use the most advanced diagnostic technology to ensure that you receive a diagnosis you can count on.
Expert surgical care for brain tumors
Whether you’re facing a benign (non-cancerous), malignant, or metastatic tumor diagnosis, the Penn Brain Tumor Center provides the most effective treatments. Our brain tumor specialists work directly with leaders in other specialties to combine their expertise into an effective treatment plan. We offer the latest in surgical and non-invasive brain tumor treatments.
Surgery allows our specialists to remove as much of the tumor as possible, determine its type and extent, and provide access to other treatments, if needed, without causing any additional neurological complications. Penn Medicine’s neurosurgeons perform thousands of procedures, including traditional, open brain surgery and minimally invasive brain surgery, each year and are among the most experienced in the country with complex brain tumors.
Neurosurgeons use advanced tumor visualization technologies that highlight tumor cells making it easier to target and remove tumor cells during surgery. Penn Medicine has developed a breakthrough therapy called TumorGlow™ that has shown promising results for many types of cancer. TumorGlow uses specially engineered injectable dye to enhance the visibility of undetected tumors.
Pioneering the latest brain tumor treatments
Our researchers and clinicians are leading the development of some of the most revolutionary new care techniques, including:
Immunotherapy is an innovative cancer treatment that uses the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. We offer several immunotherapy treatment options including:
- Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (CAR T therapy) - Penn Medicine was one of the first healthcare providers to use CAR T therapy and is still leading the way in its continued research. A new treatment developed to control previously incurable leukemias, CAR T therapy is now showing promising results when applied to cancerous tumors that start in the brain and spinal cord.
- Vaccine therapy – Penn Medicine is at the forefront in developing vaccines that can target tumor antigens, reducing the need for invasive surgery and other aggressive treatments.
- Checkpoint inhibitors – These medications prevent tumor cells from evading the immune system. First approved by the FDA for melanoma and lung cancer, they are now showing promising potential for brain tumor care.
- Oncolytic virus therapy – Penn Medicine also offers access to viral therapy for recurrent brain and spine tumors. These therapies can engineer natural viruses to deliver immune-boosting molecules directly to tumor cells.
Electric fields therapy, or "tumor-treating fields" (TTF), has been shown to slow or reverse tumor progression by causing cell death in some solid tumors. This non-invasive treatment uses electric fields within the human body that disrupt the rapid division of cancer cells. Currently, Penn Medicine offers TTF clinical trials for newly diagnosed brain and spine tumor patients.
Research continues to be at the heart of Penn Medicine’s mission clinical excellence and innovation. These therapies can deliver hope and a better quality of life.
Penn Medicine is nationally recognized for our techniques that target radiation precisely to the tumor site while sparing normal tissue.
Chemotherapy may be offered as stand-alone treatment or in combination with surgery. It can help treat widespread or metastatic cancer, whereas surgery and radiation therapy are limited to treating cancers that are confined to specific areas.
Penn Medicine’s neuro-oncologists have extensive experience in cancer care and research. Our specialists are leading the way in developing new brain tumor treatments that maximize results and quality of life.
The Penn Medicine Brain Tumor Board
Patients who come to the Penn Medicine Brain Tumor Center have their cases reviewed weekly by our multidisciplinary Tumor Board. The board consists of nationally renowned doctors from multiple specialty areas who meet in one room to identify the best treatment options and ongoing management of your brain tumor.
Board members are specialists from across the clinical spectrum, including:
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Radiation oncology
- Medical oncology
- Neuropathology
- Neuroradiology
- Rehabilitation medicine
- Neuropsychiatry
- Nursing
- Social work
A brain tumor impacts your physical and mental health in multiple ways. You deserve the assurance that each aspect of your condition is being addressed with expertise, compassion, and collaboration. Our Tumor Board offers the expert consensus needed to form the best possible care plan.
Rated “exceptional” by The National Cancer Institute
Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center is a world leader in cancer research, patient care, and education. Our status as a national leader in cancer care is reflected in our continuous designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 1973, one of 7 such centers in the United States. The ACC is also a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, one of a select few cancer centers in the U.S., that are working to promote equitable access to high-quality, advanced cancer care.
Brain tumor treatment
Patient stories
Real-time tumor assessment brings relief
“Hearing my results right away and walking away from an appointment with a game plan lets me enjoy my life between scans,” said Lynn Oxenberg.
Before launching a new CNN show, journalist Kasie Hunt had a brain tumor removed
“There’s nowhere in the world I would rather have this done than at Penn.”
How discoveries become cures, in a virtuous cycle
Public investments in biomedical research have an outsized effect, driving new scientific insights, economic growth, and ultimately treatments and cures.
How future cures begin as ideas in laboratories
The successes of CAR T research show the importance of the cycle of science—sparking new ideas and clinical trials that give patients better options.
An unexpected diagnosis and a surreal surgery
“No one ever wants to go through this, but having this support system in place for my own journey has helped me to feel like I’m in the best hands at every turn.”
Former news anchor recounts brain surgery at Penn Medicine
“I was a Penn Medicine brain surgery patient. I am also a woman thriving now with a healthy brain.”
How a brain tumor helped cyclist Chris Baccash change his life
It would have been understandable for the Doylestown, PA, native to feel despondent about the road ahead. But he had a different reaction to the news.