Astrocytoma - Mayo Clinic

At Mayo Clinic, your astrocytoma care team will be experts with the experience and knowledge to make an accurate diagnosis and create a care plan designed specifically for you.

Mayo Clinic experts treat more than 7,000 adults and children with brain and central nervous system cancers each year. You’ll have a whole team of experts, and access to the latest treatment innovations. We know that getting answers quickly is important, so appointments are available within 48 hours of your phone call.

This image displays the radiology scanned imaging from a 3 Tesla MRI. The 3 Tesla MRI, while using a less powerful magnetic field compared to the 7 Tesla MRI, still provides clear and detailed images of the body's interior. It is commonly used in clinical settings to diagnose and monitor various medical conditions, offering valuable insights for patient care and treatment planning. However, the clarity of the images produced by the 3 Tesla MRI is not as high as that of the 7 Tesla MRI, which can impact the level of detail visible in the scans.

Through these latest innovations and extensive expertise in treating multiple tumor types, the astrocytoma team at Mayo Clinic provides people the widest range of treatment options available.

After an evaluation with the multidisciplinary team of experts, you will have a treatment plan tailored specifically to you, which may include:

Genomic sequencing of your tumor
Advanced radiation
Chemotherapy
Targeted therapy, molecular therapy, chemotherapy
Clinical trials
Functional precision oncology
Nurse navigation
Integrative oncology

And with our state-of-the-art research and laboratory facilities, Mayo Clinic experts are constantly seeking new medical knowledge and innovations to bring to people with astrocytomas.

Astrocytoma treatments include:

Surgery to remove the astrocytoma. A brain surgeon, also called a neurosurgeon, works to remove as much of the astrocytoma as possible. The goal is to remove all of the tumor. Sometimes the tumor is in a spot that is hard to reach. It may be too risky to remove it all. Even so, removing some of the astrocytoma may lessen your symptoms.
For some people, surgery may be the only treatment needed. For others, more treatments may be recommended to kill any remaining tumor cells and lower the risk of the tumor coming back.

Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses powerful energy beams to kill tumor cells. The energy can come from X-rays, protons and other sources. During radiation therapy, you lie on a table while a machine moves around you. The machine sends beams to exact points in your brain. The treatment only takes a few minutes.
Radiation therapy might be used after surgery. It can be used if the cancer wasn't removed completely or if there's a higher risk the cancer will return. Radiation may be used with chemotherapy for cancers that grow quickly. For people who can't have surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be used as the main treatment.

Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses strong medicines to kill tumor cells. Chemotherapy medicines can be taken in pill form or injected into a vein. Sometimes, a circular wafer of chemotherapy medicine can be put in your brain after surgery. There, it slowly dissolves and releases the medicine.
Chemotherapy is often used after surgery to kill any tumor cells that might remain. It can be used with radiation therapy for tumors that grow quickly.

Clinical trials. Clinical trials are studies of new treatments. These studies offer a chance to try the latest treatment options. The risk of side effects may not be known. Ask a member of your healthcare team whether you can participate in a clinical trial.

Supportive care. Supportive care, also called palliative care, focuses on providing relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness. Palliative care specialists work with you, your family and your other healthcare team members to provide extra support. Palliative care can be used at the same time as other treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Often, palliative care begins as you start your astrocytoma treatments. You may not need to wait for complications to happen in order to receive palliative care.

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Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, rank among the Best Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings.

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Expert astrocytoma diagnosis and treatment, focused on you

Accuracy with advanced technologies and tests.

Leaders in innovations for astrocytoma.

Treatment

Nationally recognized expertise.

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