Benign Brain Tumors

Why choose us for benign brain tumor care?

Benign (noncancerous) tumors require specialized expertise to protect your long-term health. At Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, you are in expert hands.

Here, doctors with different specialties collaborate to deliver a precise diagnosis and personalized treatment. This team approach is uncommon in San Antonio and South Texas.

Our fellowship-trained neurosurgeons are skilled in techniques that enable us to remove brain tumors precisely. For example, we offer stereotactic radiosurgery. This advanced type of radiation therapy can treat some brain tumors without a single incision.

Find out more about our neuro-oncology (brain tumor) program.

What you need to know about benign brain tumors

• A benign brain tumor is a mass of noncancerous cells that grows inside the brain. By contrast, a malignant brain tumor (also called brain cancer) consists of cancerous cells.
• Benign brain tumors tend to grow slowly and are unlikely to spread outside the brain.
• A benign brain tumor may cause minor to severe symptoms, depending on its size and location. A tumor that presses against vital tissues or nerves may impair your ability to speak, see or remember things.
• Doctors often recommend removing benign brain tumors to protect your long-term health. In some cases, you may not need immediate treatment.
• People with benign brain tumors usually need lifelong monitoring. We personalize a follow-up plan to your needs. Regular testing helps us track changes in your health so we can act promptly should a concern arise.

How to talk to your doctor about benign brain tumors

You may be surprised to learn that you have a benign brain tumor. We help you understand your diagnosis and take the time to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

You might want to ask your doctor about:

• Additional testing, if any, you may need to guide diagnosis or treatment
• Tumor type, including how a benign brain tumor could affect your health now or in the future
• Treatment options, including whether you need treatment now and what to expect if your doctor recommends surgery
• Support services, including resources that can help you manage any physical or emotional challenges during treatment
• Lifelong care, including how and how often your doctor recommends monitoring you in the months and years ahead

We consider what’s important to you when developing your treatment recommendations. We encourage you to bring family or loved ones with you to appointments to support you in making important treatment decisions.

Types

Common types of benign brain tumors include:

• Acoustic neuroma (also called a vestibular schwannoma) grows on the nerves near your inner ear. It may affect your balance or hearing abilities.
• Meningioma is a type of brain tumor that is usually benign and tends to grow slowly.
• Pituitary adenoma is a tumor that occurs on the pituitary gland, located at the bottom of the skull. Pituitary tumors can sometimes affect your hormone production, which may cause you to feel sick or not like yourself.

Symptoms

A brain tumor may cause minor to severe symptoms. Some people notice no symptoms at all.

Brain tumor symptoms include:

• Changes to how well you see, hear or smell or feel heat or cold
• Differences in speech
• Balance or coordination problems
• Confusion or disorientation
• Fatigue or muscle weakness
• Headaches
• Nausea or vomiting
• Personality, mood or memory changes
• Seizures
• Tingling or stiffness on one side of your body

Diagnosis

We use multiple tests to diagnose benign brain tumors. Sometimes, our doctors detect a brain tumor unexpectedly while performing an imaging test for another reason.

Depending on your symptoms, we may recommend:

• Imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can pinpoint a tumor’s size and location
• Neurological exam, which evaluates how a tumor may impact your coordination, vision and hearing
• Biopsy, when a surgeon removes a small sample of tumor tissue for a review by a neuropathologist (doctor trained in brain tumor diagnosis)

Several brain tumor specialists meet regularly to discuss your test results and collaborate on your case. By bringing together specialists with diverse backgrounds, these meetings help us confirm your specific diagnosis and develop an individualized treatment plan.

Learn more about cancer diagnosis.

Treatment

You may not need treatment right away. Your doctor might recommend waiting if you don’t have symptoms and the tumor poses little risk to your health.

We usually treat benign brain tumors with surgery or radiation therapy. Your doctor may recommend a combination of treatments:

• Surgery: We use advanced imaging and computerized tools to map areas of the brain that perform vital functions (like speech). With the aid of leading technology, our surgeons perform intricate surgeries safely. We remove some tumors through the mouth or nose (called endoscopic surgery), which may ease your recovery. Learn more about neurosurgery.
• Radiation therapy: We offer stereotactic radiotherapy, a sophisticated way of treating brain tumors without surgery. Powerful machines mold energy beams to the specific shape of a tumor, which helps protect healthy tissues. Many patients experience no side effects from stereotactic radiotherapy.
• Supportive therapies: If treatment makes speaking, eating or another aspect of life more difficult, we have resources to support you. Learn more about patient and family services during cancer care.
• Chemotherapy: In a few cases, we might recommend chemotherapy treatment to shrink a tumor before surgery. Chemotherapy is not commonly used for noncancerous brain tumors.

You may need long-term follow-up care to evaluate how a tumor grows or changes over time. This follow-up can enable us to spot a recurrence (a tumor that comes back at some point after successful treatment).

Research

Our physician-scientists have been recognized for important research developments that have advanced brain tumor treatment.

Wide-ranging cancer research efforts enable us to offer enhanced treatment options for all types of brain tumors, including metastatic disease. Your doctor will explain if you are eligible for any ongoing clinical trials.

Read more about cancer clinical trials and research.