For more than 50 years, Kettering Health has offered western Ohio the most innovative brain tumor treatments. We bring together leading-edge technology and highly skilled experts to achieve the best possible results.

Our Approach to Brain Tumor Care

Our experienced team uses advanced detection methods to screen and locate potential tumors. Depending on the size and location of any tumors, our neuroscience specialists have a wide range of treatment options that aim to remove, destroy, or shrink brain tumors.

Types of Brain Tumors We Treat

Brain tumors can be primary (starting in the brain) or secondary (traveling from another body part to the brain). Brain tumors are either benign (noncancerous and slow-growing) or malignant (cancerous and fast-growing). Benign tumors can turn malignant, but it’s rare.

At Kettering Health, we treat a full range of brain tumors, including the following:

• Acoustic neuroma: a tumor on the ear nerve
• Central nervous system lymphoma: a tumor that forms from lymph tissue in the brain
• Glioblastoma: an aggressive tumor that begins in nerve cells of the brain or spinal cord
• Glioma: a tumor of the glial cells that surround nerves
• Meningioma: a tumor that grows in the tissues around the brain
• Pituitary adenoma: a tumor on the pituitary gland

Secondary or metastatic, brain tumors are most often the result of the following:

• Breast cancer
• Lung cancer
• Skin cancer

Brain Tumor Diagnosis

An accurate diagnosis is the first step toward effective brain tumor treatment. We may perform

• Biopsy: A neurosurgeon obtains a tissue sample from the brain tumor. We can do open (traditional) brain biopsies or minimally invasive stereotactic needle biopsies, where a thin needle is inserted into the brain to extract a small piece of tissue. A neuropathologist examines the tissue to determine if the tumor is benign or malignant.
• Imaging scans: MRI, CT, and PET are the most common brain tumor imaging scans. We are one of the few programs in the country offering methionine PET scans (MET-PET). This tool uses a radioactive compound to highlight low-grade tumors early, before they show up on other imaging scans.
• Neurological exam: A neurologist will assess your vision, hearing, reflexes, balance, memory, and motor function (muscle movements).

Brain Tumor Treatment

Neurosurgeons work closely with our cancer care team to plan the sequence and timing of your treatments. We may recommend a combination surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

Gamma Knife^® radiosurgery

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a precise form of radiation therapy for brain tumors. It delivers powerful doses of radiation directly to the tumor while minimizing damage to surrounding tissues. Learn more about Gamma Knife^® radiosurgery.

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT)

Laser interstitial thermal therapy uses a laser to destroy tumors with heat. This minimally invasive procedure targets hard-to-reach tumors.

Endoscopic brain surgery

Sometimes, we can remove large, aggressive tumors through the nose, mouth, or sinuses. We make a small incision and insert an endoscope, a thin, lighted tube equipped with a camera. The surgeon removes the tumor using real-time MRI guidance and minimally invasive techniques.

Awake craniotomy

We may perform open (traditional) brain surgery while you’re awake. This highly specialized procedure allows you to give real-time feedback to surgeons’ questions during the surgery. Surgeons use your responses to make sure they don’t damage essential areas of the brain. Before and during surgery, we use MRI guidance and 3D brain mapping for accuracy and precision.