Read article Treatment for pineal region tumours
This page is about treatment for pineal gland tumours. There is information about
Treatment for pineal region tumours
The treatment for a tumour in the pineal gland depends on the type of tumour it is and the age of the person. Surgery is often used to try and remove as much of the tumour as possible but it can be very difficult because the pineal gland is in the centre of the brain. So your specialist will probably suggest radiotherapy and possibly chemotherapy after surgery.
The aim of the radiotherapy is to kill any cells left behind and try to stop the tumour coming back. If you can't have surgery for any reason, you may have radiotherapy alone.
Pineal region germ cell tumours
Germ cell tumours (germinomas) can occur in the pineal region. They produce chemicals that can be measured in the blood and can be diagnosed by blood tests. If you have a germinoma pineal tumour, you may have chemotherapy before surgery and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy often works very well for this type of tumour and it may even disappear altogether.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the treating brain tumours section.
The treatment for a tumour in the pineal gland depends on the type of tumour it is and the age of the person. Surgery can be very difficult for pineal tumours because the gland is in the centre of the brain.
For some types of pineal tumour, such as teratoma (a type of germ cell tumour), it is important to try to get the whole tumour out because this type of tumour does not respond well to radiotherapy.
For pineal tumours that are not germ cell tumours, your specialist will probably suggest radiotherapy and possibly chemotherapy after surgery. The aim of surgery is to remove as much of the tumour as possible. But because there is always a risk that some cancer cells have been left behind with such a difficult operation, you are likely to need radiotherapy afterwards. The aim of the radiotherapy is to kill these cells and try to stop the cancer coming back. If you can't have surgery, you may have radiotherapy alone. You may have stereotactic radiotherapy.
Germ cell tumours can occur in the pineal region and are also called germinomas. They produce chemicals that can be measured in the blood and can be diagnosed by blood tests. These include alfa fetoprotein (AFP) and human choriogonadotropic hormone (HCG). If you have a germinoma pineal tumour, you may have chemotherapy before surgery and radiotherapy. Chemotherapy often works very well for this type of tumour and it may even disappear altogether. Specialists use different combinations of chemotherapy drugs but you may have
- Share this: Tweet
-
-
- Print this page
-
Email this page
Increase text size
Decrease text size
Print page
Print basket
Save pages here and print in one go
Nurse helpline
Questions about cancer? Call freephone
0808 800 4040
or email us
