Surgery is often the first treatment for brain metastases. We work to remove the tumor and relieve any pressure on the brain. Our surgeons use a range of surgical techniques, including:

• Computer-assisted technology: Sophisticated MRI or CT technology creates a 3D model of the brain, helping surgeons distinguish the tumor’s contours from healthy tissue.
• Awake brain surgery: Specialists use this approach to protect key brain functions, such as vision and speech, while removing the tumor. During this operation, you are comfortably sedated but awake as the surgeon asks you to perform tasks, such as talking.

Radiation therapy may be your primary treatment, or you may receive it as secondary treatment to destroy cancer cells that remain after surgery. We offer the most effective radiation therapies for metastatic brain tumors, including:

• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): This type customizes the intensity of the radiation pulses to the tumor’s different densities.
• 3D conformal radiation therapy: This therapy allows doctors to match the high-energy X-ray beams to the tumor’s exact shape, reducing radiation to nearby healthy tissue.
• Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS): We use several robotic systems to precisely deliver high doses of radiation to the tumor, while protecting surrounding healthy cells. Our specialists offer both LINAC and CyberKnife, a technology developed by Stanford Medicine doctors.

Your doctor may prescribe medication that destroys cancer cells, slows their growth, or treats difficult symptoms. Anticancer medications for metastatic brain tumors include:

• Targeted therapy: This type of drug therapy disrupts tumor growth by targeting certain features on their cells.
• Immunotherapy: These cancer medications work in various ways to stimulate the body’s own immune system to fight the tumor.
• Other medications: If the tumor is causing seizures, pain, or vision changes, you may receive additional medications to manage these symptoms. For example, your doctor may prescribe anticonvulsants to reduce pain and risk of seizures. At times, physicians will use chemotherapeutic agents to treat these tumors, although they are often less effective when tumors invade the brain due to issues with the blood-brain barrier.

Some metastatic brain tumors have specific genetic markers that might respond to certain medications. Our specialists decode the tumor’s genetic blueprint to identify the right medications for you.