Brain Tumor Program

A neurosurgeon uses a 3D model of a person's brain tumor to explain the surgical plan.

Each year more than 6,000 adults and children with brain tumors and other central nervous system cancers find the help they need at Mayo Clinic. For many people, surgery is the best option. Clinic neurosurgeons perform more than 3,000 brain and central nervous system surgeries yearly. This type of expertise is vital to planning and conducting brain surgery. And this high level of expertise means our surgeons are capable of removing brain tumors that otherwise might be considered inoperable.

Mayo Clinic neurosurgeons specialize in minimally invasive techniques, which often result in reduced hospital stays, shorter recovery times and a lower expected mortality rate in brain tumor surgery. The clinic's adult 30-day mortality rate for brain tumor surgery is only 0.3%, compared with 1% to 4% nationally. At Mayo Clinic, many people leave the hospital one or two days after surgery.

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 quality rankings.