How Adult Brain Tumors Are Treated There are treatments for all patients with an adult brain tumor. Surgery is the most common treatment for adult brain tumors. To take out the cancer from the brain, your doctor will cut a part of the bone from the skull to get to your brain. This operation is called a craniotomy. After your doctor removes the cancer, the bone will be put back or a piece of metal or fabric will be used to cover the opening in the skull.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. Biological therapy tries to get your own body to fight cancer. It uses materials made by your own body or made in a laboratory to boost, direct, or restore your body's natural defenses against disease. Biological therapy is sometimes called biological response modifier therapy or immunotherapy.