What Is Radiation Therapy for Brain Tumors?

Radiation therapy works to destroy brain tumors or slow their growth. It can be used alone or in combination with surgery, chemotherapy or cancer biologics.

Depending on your individual case, our radiation oncologists may recommend radiation to:

• Kill any remaining tumor cells after a biopsy or partial or total removal of a tumor
• Treat tumors that cannot be surgically removed
• Prevent metastatic brain tumors from developing, or destroying those that have developed
• Relieve symptoms that the tumor is causing (palliative radiation)

Learn more about brain tumor treatments.

Radiation Therapy: Why Choose Us?

Stanford radiation oncologists (specialists in treating brain tumors with radiation) have years of experience in radiation therapy and specialized training in brain tumor treatment. We’re dedicated to delivering the most effective treatment for brain tumors while minimizing side effects.

Our goal is to help you achieve the best possible quality of life. Our expertise in radiation therapy for brain tumors includes:

Team of Experts

Our specialists in radiation oncology are actively involved in research and clinical trials, publish in peer-reviewed journals and speak at conferences. By staying at the forefront of brain tumor treatment, our experts bring you the latest, most advanced therapies for better treatment outcomes. Meet your care team.

Collaborative Care

We use a team-based approach to diagnose and treat brain tumors. Our specialists collaborate during a weekly Brain Tumor Board where they discuss the most complex cases. Our goal is to give you advanced, effective and comprehensive care.

Advanced Technology

We have more experience using CyberKnife – a noninvasive radiation therapy – to treat brain tumors than any other facility in the world. That’s because our doctors invented CyberKnife right here at Stanford. In fact, we have treated more than 5,000 patients using the CyberKnife system.

We also have the most advanced linear accelerators (specialized radiation treatment machines) to provide precision radiation therapy using image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT). Learn more about our radiation procedures.

Innovative Research

At Stanford, our radiation oncologists are pushing the boundaries in using advanced radiosurgery for brain tumor treatment. In many cases, treatments that previously took 6 weeks using conventional radiation can now be completed in just 1 week. Our dedication to advancing care through research enables us to treat people with even the most complex brain tumors.