Brain Tumors and Cancer Treatment and Survival Rate

January 12, 2026

This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by Yuthana Kong, P.A., Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research, City of Hope^® Cancer Center Duarte.

Many high-quality treatments are available for treating brain tumors. Patients work together with their care team to determine which treatments may be most effective for them based on factors such as what type of brain tumor they have, how big the tumor is, where it’s located and their overall health.

Who Treats Brain Tumors?

Patients with brain tumors or brain cancer are cared for by an expert team of doctors, nurses and supportive care specialists that may include:

• Neuro-oncologists, who are specialists in cancers that affect the brain and central nervous system.
• Neurosurgeons, who operate to remove tumors from the brain, spinal cord or central nervous system.
• Medical oncologists, who are experts in using a variety of medications – including chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapies – to treat cancer.
• Pathologists, who work to evaluate tissue and tumors during the diagnosis.
• Radiation oncologists with training in using radiation techniques to target and destroy cancer cells.
• Specialized pharmacies, which offer access to medications for hard-to-treat conditions.
• Supportive medicine providers, who help patients manage the side effects and symptoms of both cancer and its treatments.

Brain Tumor Treatments

Surgery is the most common treatment option for a brain tumor. Surgery may be the only therapy that a patient needs or it may be combined with other options, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy or targeted therapy. Scientists are also studying new ways to treat brain tumors through research and clinical trials.

Brain Tumor Surgery

In many cases, surgery is a primary treatment option for both benign (non-cancerous) brain tumors and malignant (cancerous) brain tumors. Patients work with their cancer care team to determine what approach to surgery may be most effective, depending on many factors, including the type, location and size of their tumor. Neurosurgeons will then recommend the most effective surgical approach for removing the tumor while avoiding damage to surrounding tissue. Brain surgery, sometimes referred to as neurosurgery, may have several goals:

To remove all or some of a tumor To slow the growth of a tumor by removing some of the cancer To biopsy a tumor to find out more about its unique characteristics To drain a build-up of cerebrospinal fluid from the brain To deliver medications like chemotherapy directly to a tumor

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-powered beams of radiation to shrink tumors or destroy cancer cells. It is a common treatment for brain tumors and can be delivered from outside the body (external beam radiation therapy) or via radioactive material placed near to or on a tumor (internal radiation therapy or brachytherapy). Patients may also benefit from state-of-the-art radiation therapy techniques that are targeted and minimize damage to healthy brain tissue. These include helical tomotherapy and TrueBeam radiotherapy.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of medications that target and destroy cancer cells. They may be administered into a vein (intravenously), by mouth (orally) or, in the case of brain tumors, in the form of a small “wafer” that is placed at the site of a tumor during surgery. Chemotherapy is most commonly used if surgery or radiation therapy are not able to destroy all the cancer cells in a brain tumor.

Targeted Therapy

There are many different types of targeted therapies – a term which refers to medications that target how cancer cells work on a genetic or cellular level in order to slow or stop a tumor’s growth. Currently there are two targeted therapies that are approved for use in treating brain cancer – bevacizumab (Avastin) and everolimus (Afinitor) – but researchers are continuing to develop new targeted therapy options.

Neural Stem Cell Therapy

Neural stem cell therapy is an advanced treatment option developed that’s being evaluated by researchers at City of Hope. The therapy, which is still investigational, uses neural stem cells, which are naturally drawn to tumor cells, to deliver chemotherapy and other therapies directly to the brain. Neural stem cell therapy is highly targeted, which may allow it to minimize side effects and toxicity to normal brain tissue.

Brain Tumor Survival Rates

Survival rates for patients with brain tumors depend on many different factors, most importantly, the type of tumor they have and whether the tumor is benign or malignant. However, the National Brain Tumor Society tracks the overall five-year survival rates for all types of brain tumor. Five-year survival rates represent what percentage of patients diagnosed with a brain tumor are alive five years after their initial diagnosis.

Survival Rates for Adults

These are the average five-year survival rates for adults with a primary brain tumor.

• All primary tumors combined: 72.5%
• Malignant tumors or brain cancer: 21%

Survival Rates for Children

These are the average five-year survival rates for children with a primary brain tumor.

• All primary tumors combined: 83.1%
• Malignant tumors or brain cancer: 75.6%

Brain Tumor Treatment at City of Hope

City of Hope’s approach to treating brain cancer starts with a coordinated, multidisciplinary care team who share the primary goal of improving survival rates. We combine leading-edge technologies like minimally-invasive surgery and the latest radiological approaches with access to research and clinical trials not found anywhere else.

Your care includes regular interaction and input from a team that includes neurosurgeons, oncologists, radiologists and pathologists, along with researchers who collaborate with clinical staff to bring potential therapies from the lab to patients as quickly as possible. Our neurosurgery team’s focus on researching and treating brain tumors also means they can target tumors that elsewhere may be considered inoperable.