Brain and Spine Tumor Treatments
Our comprehensive brain and spine tumor program consists of a multidisciplinary team of specialists ready to care for patients with benign and malignant brain and spine tumors. Our team of neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists and neuro-radiologists offer treatments based on the latest medical research using the most advanced technology. They also provide patients with opportunities to participate in promising new clinical trials. Imaging helps distinguish between tumor and non-cancerous processes to avoid unnecessary treatment.Brain and Spine Tumor Care at Our Hospitals
Hackensack University Medical Center
Brain Tumor Diagnosis
We use advanced imaging technologies and tumor genomics that aren’t available at many hospitals, enabling us to precisely locate and identify tumors and provide treatments that are tailored to the biology of your disease.
Some of our diagnostic services include:
- 3T MRI enables precision in diagnosis by our board-certified neuro-radiologists.
- Functional and Diffusion Tensor MRI Imaging helps us map specific brain areas before surgery.
- PET Imaging helps distinguish between tumor and non-cancerous processes to avoid unnecessary treatment.
Brain Tumor Treatment
Quality of life is an important consideration in our treatment approach. Each patient’s recommended treatment plan is dictated by a wide range of variables, including tumor type, location, the patient’s age and neurological condition, and other existing medical conditions.Chemotherapy
Our scientists study every tumor after surgery to identify genetic mutations and other changes underpinning growth and use this information to create a personalized treatment plan that specifically targets your tumor.Neurological Rehabilitation
Our expert physical, occupational and speech therapists work closely with your entire care team to reduce negative side effects and help patients return to their normal activities as soon as possible. Learn more about neurological rehabilitation.Radiation Therapy
3-D Conformal Radiation Therapy can customize radiation to fit the exact shape of the brain tumor and avoid or reduce exposure of healthy tissue.Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography (4DCT) captures the exact location of a brain tumor and identifies anatomical complications or obstructions prior to surgery.
Gamma Knife® Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) is a noninvasive, same-day procedure to treat malignant and benign tumors of the brain and other parts of the head and is considered the most focused treatment in the world.
Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) delivers precise radiation to brain tumors while minimizing the dose to surrounding healthy tissue.
Magnetic Resonance (MR)-Guided Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy is a minimally invasive neurosurgical technique used to treat intracranial lesions and brain tumors.
Neurophysiological Mapping helps neurosurgeons pinpoint which tumor tissue can be safely removed by stimulating those parts of the brain during surgery, and operating around functional areas once they are identified.
Proton Therapy delivers radiation over a shorter range than traditional forms of radiation, reducing the amount of radiation delivered to nearby healthy tissues.
TrueBeam™ Linear Accelerator is an advanced image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) system that accurately targets brain tumors while avoiding healthy tissues and organs.
ZAP-X® Gyroscopic Radiosurgery® with Synaptive’s Brain-Only Silent MRI is an advanced form of radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery paired with a dedicated brain only MRI designed. An outpatient procedure without an invasive head frame, anesthesia or incision. Patients can return home the same day after treatment.
Virtual Reality Imaging
JFK University Medical Center is the first and only hospital in New Jersey to integrate a virtual reality medical visualization platform into neurosurgery care. This approach helps you and your surgeon prepare for your procedure before any incisions being made, providing information on what to expect when the actual procedure takes place. Using this technology has proven to significantly reduce the time a patient is in surgery.Our Brain Tumor Research and Clinical Trials
We have the largest clinical research team in New Jersey and rank among the top 10 in clinical trials in the U.S. for primary brain tumors. More than 80% of our patients with primary brain tumors participate in clinical trials of cutting edge therapies.- Early-phase clinical trials: We have our own program of Phase I clinical trials, offering opportunities to receive novel therapies being evaluated for the first time in patients.
- National collaboration: Hackensack University Medical Center is a main member institution in ALLIANCE, a collaborative of the National Cancer Institute, and collaborates with investigators at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center on translational “bench-to-bedside” research to speed promising findings of laboratory studies to clinical trials.
