Overview
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The Neuro-Oncology Program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Neurological Institute serves patients from across the country and around the world, providing state-of-the-art care to individuals who suffer from neurological cancers.
The team of skilled specialists at the Neuro-Oncology Program take a comprehensive team approach, with experts from the Neurological Institute and Oncology Institute, working in close collaboration, to offer a full range of advanced treatment options for adults with brain, pituitary, skull base, and spinal cord tumors. The integrated approach also includes a team of expert physicians, researchers, clinical care coordinators and nurses, working together to offer the best personalized science and technology, one patient at a time.
Led by experts in the field of neuro-oncology, our interdisciplinary program provides an optimized and individualized approach to each patient’s condition. Neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, neuropathologists, neuro-radiologists, endocrinologists, interventional neuro-radiologists, ENTs (ear, nose, and throat) specialists, ophthalmologists, pain management and neuro-rehabilitation specialists work hand-in-hand to establish a treatment plan for the best possible outcome of every patient.
Every patient who comes to the program receives Patients First care throughout diagnosis and treatment, which may include innovative minimally invasive surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, advanced radiation therapy, targeted radiosurgery, and other advanced approaches to tumor treatment.
What We Treat
The Neuro-Oncology Program diagnoses and treats patients with a range of neurological cancers, including:
- Primary brain tumors: Which initially develop in the brain tissue or the areas surrounding the brain (the meninges).
- Secondary brain tumors: Secondary, or metastatic, brain tumors begin with cancer cells from a tumor in another part of the body, such as the breast or lung, and travel to the brain through the bloodstream. Secondary brain tumors are more common than primary brain tumors and occur more often in adults than in children.
- Skull base tumors: Skull base tumors form in the area between the brain and the rest of the head. The main goal of skull base surgery is to permit access to difficult-to-reach tumor locations while minimizing injury to the brain, cranial nerves, and blood vessels.
- Pituitary tumors: Pituitary tumors are responsible for most hormone imbalances involving hormones made or controlled by the pituitary gland.
- Spinal cord and spine tumors: Spinal cord and spine tumors can occur anywhere along the length of the spinal column. The Neuro-oncology Program team treats brain and spinal cord tumors with advanced techniques including microsurgery, radiosurgery, ultrasound, laser and fluorescence imaging guidance. Neurorehabilitation is an integral part of a patient’s recovery after treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors. Our program caregivers work in close collaboration with experts in the Neurological Institute’s Neuro-rehabilitation Program.
Diagnosis & Treatment
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Diagnosis of Neurological Cancers
Neurological cancer diagnosis may be established through imaging testing and, in some cases, tumor biopsy. Tumor biopsy involves removing and testing a small sample of tumor tissue. The neuropathologist examines this sample to confirm the diagnosis and classify the tumor more specifically, according to the cell type it contains. This examinations helps to ensure that further treatment is planned appropriately.
Treatment of Neurological Cancers
The Neuro-oncology Program’s highly trained neurosurgeons use the latest neurosurgical techniques to ensure a precise and well-planned approach to the tumor for biopsy and tumor resection, or removal. Technological tools like intraoperative neuromonitoring, brain mapping, ultrasound-guided biopsy, and fluorescence-guided surgery assist the team in achieving the ultimate goal of removing the tumor while preserving quality of life for the patient.
Meet Our Team
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The Neuro-oncology Program is a multidisciplinary collaboration of leaders in the field. The program’s neurosurgeons are trained in surgery of the nervous system, with special expertise in surgical diagnosis and treatment of brain and spine tumors. The medical oncologist contributes specialized knowledge in the use of medical therapy, or chemotherapy, to treat cancer and other tumors. The endocrinologist treats hormonal imbalances that can result from surgery, medication, or tumor growth, like in the case of pituitary tumors. The care team also includes a pain physician, who manages the treatment of pain related to cancer and surgery and assures that pain is not a factor that reduces quality of life after treatment.
Caregivers involved in patient care for this program are:
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Neurosurgeons
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Oncologists
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Endocrinologists
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Pain physicians.
