Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors care at Mayo Clinic
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are rare and complex cancers. A diagnosis often brings an urgent need for specialized care. Healthcare teams must consider both how to control the cancer and how to protect movement, sensation and other important functions.
At Mayo Clinic, experts in nerve tumors, sarcoma, surgery, radiation therapy and cancer treatment work together to plan your care. They review the diagnosis and study how the tumor involves nearby nerves and structures. The care team comes up with one coordinated plan based on the tumor, your overall health and what matters most to you.
Your Mayo Clinic care team
At Mayo Clinic, doctors work in multidisciplinary teams. Your care team may include neurologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, and genetic counselors.
These specialists review your diagnosis and treatment options together. This helps ensure that surgery, radiation therapy, medicines, reconstruction and rehabilitation are planned as parts of the same strategy, rather than as separate recommendations from different doctors.
Advanced diagnosis and treatment
Mayo Clinic doctors combine experience with rare tumors, advanced diagnostics and coordinated treatment planning to provide care tailored to your diagnosis and your treatment goals.
- Experts in rare tumors help provide clearer answers. MPNSTs can be difficult to diagnose and treat. Mayo Clinic radiologists and pathologists with experience in rare tumors review imaging and tissue samples to confirm the diagnosis and better understand the tumor's grade, extent and other features that may affect treatment.
- A coordinated evaluation leads to a unified treatment plan. The specialists on your team bring together imaging, pathology findings, molecular information and details about your overall health. Reviewing this information as a team can reduce repeated testing and conflicting recommendations. Your team helps you understand which options are reasonable for you.
- Surgery is planned with function in mind. These tumors may grow around nerves that control movement or sensation. Surgeons carefully assess whether the tumor can be removed and what effect surgery could have on function. When possible, they plan treatment to protect important nerves and nearby structures. If function cannot be preserved, the team may consider reconstruction and rehabilitation to help you regain mobility and function.
- The full range of treatments is considered together. Your care team evaluates surgery, radiation therapy, medicines and supportive care based on the tumor's location, grade, stage and molecular features. This helps ensure that recommendations are based on the details of your tumor and your goals, rather than on a one-size-fits-all approach.
- Clinical trials may provide additional options. Standard treatment choices can be limited, particularly when the tumor has spread, returned or cannot be removed completely. Molecular testing and clinical trials may help identify emerging therapies to consider alongside established treatments.
- Rehabilitation and supportive care address life during and after treatment. Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists may help with weakness, changes in sensation, mobility, pain and recovery. Your care team also considers how treatment may affect daily activities and quality of life, so support can be built into your plan from the beginning.
Throughout your care, your team explains what it has learned, why it recommends a particular approach and what the next steps are. That can help you make decisions with a more complete understanding of the options and their possible effects.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic doctors are widely respected for their expertise in diagnosing and treating rare cancers, such as malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors.
Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the 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.
Mayo Clinic has been recognized as a top cancer hospital by U.S. News & World Report since it began publishing rankings in 1990. Most recently, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, have been recognized among the top Cancer hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
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.