As pioneers in computer-assisted stereotactic techniques, Mount Sinai brain tumor surgeons have extended the range of operable brain tumors using advanced technology and can now operate on tumors previously thought inoperable. Our neurosurgeons routinely use state-of-the-art navigational microscopes and a computerized navigation system to perform minimally invasive procedures.
For appropriate patients, we perform brain mapping to preserve brain function during the surgical removal of brain tumors. Brain mapping reduces surgical risk and improves patient outcome. We perform endoscopic surgery when applicable to remove tumors less invasively and more accurately. This less invasive surgery is well tolerated and promotes speedy recovery.
Mount Sinai provides the following types of treatment for brain tumors:
Computer-Assisted, Image-Guided Craniotomy
Using computers, our surgeons gather and store images from your MRI or CT scan. After reformatting, the images are rendered in 3-D, enabling us to see the lesion in relation to critical areas of your brain. Most importantly, the information is displayed during surgery and scaled to the actual size and location within the surgical field.
With computer-assisted, image-guided craniotomy, your surgeon can plan and simulate the surgical procedure beforehand, reach deep-seated or centrally located brain tumors, and employ the safest and least invasive route possible.
Mount Sinai's development of a precision navigation system has reduced the number of surgical complications, reduced length of stay and hospital costs, while enhancing quality of life.
Awake and Asleep Brain Mapping
Brain mapping and awake brain surgery are advanced neurosurgical procedures used to remove brain tumors. During awake brain surgery, you will remain alert and responsive at various times during the surgical removal of infiltrative brain tumors, such as gliomas.
Awake and asleep brain mapping may also be used if your surgeon is searching for the areas of the brain responsible for seizures (epilepsy). Being awake helps the surgical team locate more precisely the boundary between the tumor and the high-functioning cortical and subcortical white matter fibers, facilitating safer surgical removal of the tumor.
Radiation plays a major role in treating cancer by shrinking or destroying malignant tumors. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) does this by delivering precise, concentrated, highly focused radiation directly to the brain tumor and sparing the surrounding tissue. In stereotactic radiosurgery, low-dose radiation beams penetrate the brain from different angles. The dosage is low enough to ensure that the healthy brain tissue the beams pass through receives minimal exposure, but significant enough to shrink or kill the tumor at the point where the beams intersect — at the tumor site. The radiation dosage depends on the type and size of the tumor and is customized for each patient.
Stereotactic radiosurgery can be more effective than traditional radiotherapy. New treatments at Mount Sinai using the Novalis Shaped Beam Surgery System represent state-of-the-art, advanced radiation therapy techniques.
Chemotherapy and Radiation
Patients may require chemotherapy alone, or at the same time as radiation therapy as part of your treatment. Sometimes chemotherapeutic drugs are placed in the tumor cavity at the time of surgery and remain in place during radiation therapy. Other times, oral or intravenous drugs are administered for a specific treatment course.
Chemotherapy can kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. New chemotherapy medications are in development at Mount Sinai, available through participation in a clinical trial.
Keep in mind that every patient is different. Your doctor will discuss with you the treatments he or she determines are best suited for your condition and your particular circumstance.
Please call the Mount Sinai Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program at 212-241-9638 to discuss the treatment options we offer for your situation.
Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program
5 East 98th Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10029
To speak with someone about open brain tumor clinical trials, please contact John Percival Pena, NP, at 212-241-6252.