Brain tumor: diagnosis and treatment

From the first signs, treatment is organized in several coordinated stages. The Caen Normandy University Hospital provides diagnosis for patients who are most often referred by an emergency department or the attending physician according to the first symptoms (decrease in muscular strength, epileptic seizure, speech problems, etc.).

Several specialties are then involved in order to confirm and refine the diagnosis. The radiology , equipped with a state-of-the-art technical platform, provides imaging examinations ( MRI , nuclear medicine ( PET-SCAN) ) . To clarify the diagnosis, a sample of the tumor is also analyzed by the pathological anatomy and cytology . This sample is taken during the surgical procedure intended either to carry out a biopsy or to directly remove the tumor. It allows the tumor to be graded and postoperative treatment to be decided.

To decide on this treatment, doctors from different specialties (neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, anatomopathologists, radiotherapists) meet every week in multidisciplinary consultation meetings in order to offer and ensure the best possible treatment for patients from throughout the region.

Patients are then received during an announcement consultation, with a neuro-oncologist or a neurosurgeon who provides them with all the information related to their treatment and coordinates their journey in conjunction with the coordinating nurses.

In 2024, the Caen Normandy University Hospital will integrate into its team a neuro-oncologist with strong links with the neurosurgery team. This pair will allow the establishment to take charge of the entire patient journey and no longer just the strictly surgical phase.