Brain tumor care at Mayo Clinic
Your Mayo Clinic care team
At Mayo Clinic, top-ranked doctors and specialists from the Brain Tumor Program work together to provide you with comprehensive, world-renowned care. Your team members may include:
- Neuro-oncologists.
- Neuroradiologists.
- Neuropathologists.
- Neurosurgeons.
- Medical oncologists.
- Radiation oncologists.
- Neurologists.
- Rehabilitation specialists.
- Other specialists, as needed.
Mayo Clinic also provides expert care for children with brain tumors. Our pediatric neuro-oncologists work with a team of specialists to diagnose and treat pediatric brain tumors and provide children with the personalized treatment they require.
Having all of this subspecialized expertise in a single place, focused on you, means that you're not just getting one opinion. Your care is discussed among the team, your test results are available quickly, appointments are scheduled in coordination and the most highly specialized brain tumor experts in the world are all working together to determine what's best for you.
What might take months to accomplish elsewhere can typically be done in only a matter of days at Mayo Clinic.
Advanced diagnosis and treatment
People who seek care at Mayo Clinic have access to the most advanced imaging and diagnostic tools available. There's a long history of Mayo Clinic scientists developing those cutting-edge technologies for patient care.
Mayo Clinic neuropathologists are skilled in analyzing brain tumor tissue in the lab to make an accurate diagnosis. They analyze many tissue samples every year and have access to the latest in lab technology. Neuropathologists at Mayo Clinic have experience in diagnosing all types of brain tumors, including very rare types. Getting an accurate diagnosis helps your health care team create the most effective treatment plan for you.
Innovation by Mayo Clinic doctors and scientists led to the development of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and related slip interface imaging. This advanced imaging technique allows physicians to better prepare for brain tumor removal surgery. The technology provides vital information about the firmness and adhesion of brain tumors. This information allows the multidisciplinary care team to determine the optimal method and timing for surgery in order to reduce the risk of potential complications or follow-up surgeries.
Mayo Clinic neurosurgeons perform more than 2,900 brain tumor surgeries each year using the latest technologies and tools available to them, including:
Research
With state-of-the-art research and laboratory facilities, Mayo Clinic experts are constantly seeking a greater understanding of brain tumors in order to improve patient care. A variety of clinical trials and other studies of tumor biology, neuropathology and epidemiology may be available to you as part of your brain tumor treatment at Mayo Clinic.
Nationally recognized brain tumor expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic brain tumor experts provide comprehensive care for more than 5,600 adults and children with common or rare brain tumors each year.
- Collaboration. The top-ranked specialists in the Brain Tumor Program at Mayo Clinic work together with other experts to deliver the most appropriate treatment for each person. Your brain tumor treatment team may involve neuroradiologists, neuropathologists, neurosurgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, neurologists, rehabilitation specialists and other specialists as needed.
- The latest techniques and technology. Mayo Clinic neurosurgeons perform more than 2,900 brain tumor surgeries each year using the latest technological advances available to them. These include computer-assisted brain surgery, intraoperative MRI (iMRI), awake brain surgery and lasers.
- Comprehensive cancer center. Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets strict standards for a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
- Highly respected expertise. A Mayo Clinic doctor serves as a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Central Nervous System Cancers Panel. The panel crafts the guidelines for the care of people with brain tumors. Oncologists and surgeons both nationally and internationally refer to these guidelines when providing patient care.
- Involvement in international research networks. Mayo Clinic is part of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a group of scientists throughout the U.S. and Canada who work together to conduct clinical trials and reduce the impact of cancer.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona., rank among the Best Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery and for cancer in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023–2024 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings. With the emphasis on collaborative care, specialists interact very closely with their colleagues across all sites.
Learn more about Mayo Clinic's neurology and neurosurgery departments' expertise and rankings.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.
Mayo Clinic Brain Tumor Program
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