Stereotactic Radiosurgery & Radiation Therapy 

Radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, uses high-energy beams (X-rays or gamma rays, for example) to kill tumor cells and keep tumors from growing. Radiation can be targeted to reach the brain tumor without affecting other parts of the body, and may be used before, after or instead of surgery, depending on each patient’s situation. 

At Houston Methodist, we use the latest technology to selectively attack the tumor. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is the use of radiation therapy to manipulate and focus the beam to the precise shape of the tumor to minimize the amount of radiation passing through healthy brain tissue. In this case, the radiation is delivered from an external beam. Your doctor may also consider and discuss surgery and/or chemotherapy with you. 

Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)

Many brain tumors that were previously considered untreatable can now be treated quickly, effectively and safely with radiosurgery. It is often a successful treatment option for people who have remaining lesions after surgery or for brain tumors that are in regions with critical functions or that are risky to access with conventional surgery. 

Our experts can treat both primary tumors (those that originate within the brain) and metastatic tumors (secondary tumors, or tumors that have spread from cancer sites outside the brain), usually with a single, one-day treatment, or in a short course of three to five treatments, instead of the usual 20 to 26 treatments required for radiation therapy.

Many patients originally thought to have inoperable tumors can now be safely and effectively treated. This technique has given patients new treatment options to avoid or augment surgery and minimize side effects from surgery or more extensive traditional radiation treatments. In some cases, patients who previously had limited life expectancy now have the potential of longer-term survival with enhanced quality of life.

Disorders treated with SRS include:

• Acoustic neuroma
• Arteriovenous Malformations (AVMs), Dural AV Fistulas
• Brain metastases 
• Functional disorders (movement disorders, e.g.)
• Gliomas 
• Meningiomas
• Skull base tumors: Meningioma, schwannoma, chordoma, glomus tumors, adenoid cystic carcinoma, primary skull base carcinoma, esthesioneuroblastoma
• Trigeminal neuralgia

Houston Methodist Hospital Radiosurgery Program 

Neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists at Houston Methodist Hospital Sterotactic Radiosurgery Program use highly specialized stereotactic radiosurgery equipment, such as the Gamma Knife and Novalis®, to focus beams of radiation only where needed to destroy cancerous or noncancerous growths without damaging healthy brain tissue. These beams are formed to the complex, 3-D shape of each person’s tumor, allowing physicians to administer higher doses of radiation more precisely and safely. That makes this noninvasive, nonsurgical treatment less toxic than previous radiation treatments for brain tumors.
 
Before treatment, patients will undergo 3-D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computerized tomography (CT) to give physicians an accurate view of each patient’s internal anatomy and the shape and location of each tumor. Then radiation oncologists and neurosurgeons, together with the patient, develop a personalized treatment plan.