Brain Tumor Program
The Pediatric Brain Tumor Program provides advanced treatment for brain and spinal cord tumors in a supportive environment. Our goal is to cure whenever possible while providing all of our patients with the best possible care and quality of life.
Our program's diverse team of specialists provides coordinated care for each child we see. Doctors from pediatric neuro-oncology, pediatric neurosurgery, pediatric neurology, pediatric physical medicine and rehabilitation, and pediatric radiation oncology work together on every case to make an accurate diagnosis and design an effective treatment plan.
Our team also includes psychologists, neuropsychologists, social workers, child life specialists and a school liaison. These specialists help families navigate the challenges of treatment while caring for their child's emotional and psychological health. We work closely with local and national organizations to ensure children and their families have the resources they need, including support groups.
Using advanced technologies, our neurologists and neurosurgeons are able to remove or destroy tumor tissue while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. For instance, the practice of MRI scanning during procedures helps our surgeons safely remove as much of the tumor as possible. We are also one of only a few centers in California to offer Gamma Knife or CyberKnife, tools for precisely delivering high doses of radiation therapy.
Improving brain tumor care through research is another part of our mission. UCSF is a leader in the Pacific Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Consortium, which is dedicated to developing innovative treatments for brain tumors, and we belong to several other national research alliances. This means our patients have unsurpassed access to promising experimental therapies and are among the first to benefit from new scientific findings.
Highlights of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program
We have expertise in leading-edge diagnostic methods, such as:
- Stereotactic biopsies. This highly advanced procedure retrieves brain tissue samples for analysis while causing minimal side effects.
- Gene sequencing. For all of our patients, we use a state-of-the-art test, the UCSF500 Cancer Gene Panel, to identify mutations in a tumor's DNA. The results can allow doctors to make more accurate diagnoses and determine the best treatment course for an individual patient.
We also provide innovative approaches to treating neurological tumors, including:
- Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG). Only a few hospitals in California offer MIBG, a drug that targets treatment-resistant neuroblastoma.
- Convection-enhanced delivery. Researchers at UCSF helped pioneer this procedure, which uses a thin tube to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to a brain tumor, making the treatment more effective while reducing its side effects.
- MEK inhibitors. We offer MEK inhibitors to treat neurofibromatosis type 1.
Our locations (2)
Explore what we do
Navigating brain tumor treatment with virtual reality
Our team used cutting-edge VR technology to help a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1 and her family prepare for brain surgery.
Our team
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Sabine Mueller
MD, PhD, MAS
Pediatric neurologist and neuro-oncologist -
Kurtis Auguste
MD
Pediatric neurosurgeon -
Anuradha Banerjee
MD, MPH
Pediatric neuro-oncologist -
Mitchel Berger
MD
Neurosurgeon -
Steve Braunstein
MD, PhD
Radiation oncologist -
Nalin Gupta
MD, PhD
Pediatric neurosurgeon -
Caroline Hastings
MD
Hematologist-oncologist and neuro-oncologist -
Winson S. Ho
MD
Pediatric neurosurgeon -
Marie Jaeger-Krause
MD
Pediatric hematologist-oncologist and neuro-oncologist -
Maya Lodish
MD
Pediatric endocrinologist -
Brian S. Na
MD
Neuro-oncologist -
Jean L. Nakamura
MD
Radiation oncologist -
Bo Qiu
MD, PhD
Pediatric oncologist -
Alyssa Reddy
MD
Pediatric neurologist and neuro-oncologist -
Peter P. Sun
MD
Pediatric neurosurgeon -
Dina Hankin
PhD
Psychologist -
Shannon Lundy
PhD
Pediatric neuropsychologist -
Wendy Santos-Modesitt
PhD
Pediatric neuropsychologist -
Caroline Farless
PNP, RN
Pediatric nurse practitioner -
Carly Hoffman
PNP, MSN
Pediatric nurse practitioner -
Stephanie Petruzzi
LCSW, MSW
Pediatric social worker -
Shannon H. Raber
PNP, MSN
Pediatric nurse practitioner -
Sarah Schleimer
PNP, MSN
Pediatric nurse practitioner
Awards & recognition
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Ranked among the nation's best in 11 specialties
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Best in Northern California for cancer care
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One of the nation's best for neurology & neurosurgery
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in NIH funding among U.S. neurology programs
Plan your visit
What to Bring
- Photo I.D.
- Health insurance card
- Insurance authorization, if required
- Doctor's referral, if required
- Recent test results related to your child's condition
- List of medications, including dosages, plus any your child is allergic to
- List of questions you may have
- Device or paper for taking notes
Clinical trials
A Study of a New Way to Treat Children and Young Adults With a Brain Tumor Called NGGCT
Will be measured by the number of progressions or deaths within 2 years of enrollment for the cohort treated with whole ventricular + spinal canal irradiation (WVSCI). The final analysis will include an exact binomial confidence i...
Recruiting
More about this studyGenetically Modified Cells (KIND T Cells) for the Treatment of HLA-A*0201-Positive Patients Wit...
MTD is defined as the dose at which fewer than one-third of participants experience a dose limiting toxicity (DLT) for all participants who received at least one study intervention.
Recruiting
More about this studyBGB-290 and Temozolomide in Treating Isocitrate Dehydrogenase (IDH)1/2-Mutant Grade I-IV Glioma...
Events occurring on or after treatment on Day 1 will be classified using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v5.0. Adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation will be listed.
Recruiting
More about this studyCombination Therapy for the Treatment of Diffuse Midline Gliomas
Percentage of participants alive and free from progression at 6 months after the initiation of the combination of the backbone (i.e., ONC201) with a novel agent given in the maintenance phase of therapy. The primary analysis for P...
Recruiting
More about this studyImmunotherapy Before and After Surgery for Treatment of Recurrent or Progressive High Grade Gli...
Will assess the percentage change in cell cycle-related genetic signature post administration of neoadjuvant treatments when compared to archived recurrent pediatric HGG group. The number of participants with high cell cycle gene ...
Recruiting
More about this studyNivolumab and Tovorafenib for Treatment of Craniopharyngioma in Children and Young Adults
Progression-free survival is defined as the time of documented response until disease progression as defined by Response assessment in neuro-oncology criteria (RANO) criteria. PFS will be reported by overall group at 12 months.
Recruiting
More about this studyIntra-Tumoral Injections of Natural Killer Cells for Recurrent Malignant Pediatric Brain Tumors
Adverse events and clinically significant laboratory abnormalities (meeting grade 3, 4, or 5 criteria according to NCI CTCAE) will be summarized by maximum intensity and relationship to study drug(s). Grade 1 and 2 adverse events ...
Recruiting
More about this studyTrametinib and Everolimus for Treatment of Pediatric and Young Adult Patients With Recurrent Gl...
We will employ the Bayesian optimal interval (BOIN) design to find the MTD for both continuous and intermittent dosing schedules. The BOIN design is implemented in a simple way similar to the traditional 3+3 design, but is more fl...
Recruiting
More about this studyA Study to See if Memantine Protects the Brain During Radiation Therapy Treatment for Primary C...
We will estimate the difference in mean Cogstate composite Z score slopes (reflecting change in Cogstate composite Z scores from baseline to 12 months post baseline taking into account measurements at those time points as well as ...
Recruiting
More about this studyDabrafenib Combined With Trametinib After Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Newly-Dia...
The EFS curve for the new treatment cohort (Stratum 1) will be estimated by Kaplan Meier estimates. A 2-sample, 1 sided log-rank test will be used to test whether the EFS distribution is better in new treatment compared with histo...
Recruiting
More about this studySupport services
Our research initiatives
Fetal surgery firsts