How To Treat Pineoblastoma

Remove The Tumor

Surgical operation on the pineal gland for any reason can present a myriad of complications due to its central location deep within the brain. While the first and most crucial part of treating pineoblastoma is the removal of the tumor, the procedure to do so is aggressive and intrusive. The goal of pineoblastoma resection surgery is to extract as much of the tumor as possible. In many cases, complete removal is not possible because of its proximity to other critical structures. When the tumor cannot be entirely removed, the procedure is called a tumor debulking or resection instead of tumor excision.

For milder cases of pineoblastoma, an oncologist may decide to try different treatments prior to performing an excision. Often, chemotherapy and radiation are used to try and shrink the tumor so surgical resection is not necessary. If this cannot be done, the goal is to shrink the tumor enough to allow for surgical resection through the use of a small catheter. Most patients who undergo surgery to remove their pineal gland tumor will still need subsequent chemotherapy and radiation therapy to eliminate the leftover malignant cells.