The mission of the Department of Neuro-Oncology is to provide state-of-the-art treatment for patients with cancers of the nervous system, and expert care for neurologic complications from cancer or cancer therapies. Each year our physicians and support staff care for more than 500 new patients with brain tumors. In addition the department offers neurologists to address central and peripheral nervous system conditions that may affect cancer patients. Neuropsychologists are available to treat cognitive and behavioral effects of cancer, and psychiatrists manage the psychosocial and neuropsychiatric complications of cancer and cancer treatments.

In cooperation with neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, neuropathologists and neuroradiologists, we participate in a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure the best possible treatment for each patient battling any of the various central nervous system tumors, including gliomas (glioblastoma multiforme, astrocytoma, brainstem glioma, ependymoma, oligodendroglioma), meningioma, vestibular schwannoma, central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, metastatic disease to the brain and spine, or primary spinal cord tumors.

Central to the department's mission is the discovery of novel therapies for CNS tumors and metastases through clinical and laboratory research. In the laboratory we test new therapeutic agents and new approaches to gene therapy to target and kill cancer cells, or to disrupt the specific signal transduction pathways that control tumor growth. The Department of Neuro-Oncology is developing novel combination strategies to augment traditional treatment approaches for chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. Another important goal of our program is to develop and fund translational research so that new agents and strategies developed in our laboratories are brought quickly to the clinical setting.