The brain cancer treatment depends upon number of factors like type, location, size of the tumor, the patient.s age and general health and whether the cancer is a primary tumor or brain metastases.

1. Surgery: Surgery is done to remove maximum tumor without damaging nearby normal brain tissue. The removal of tumor might become complicated depending upon its location and its nature. The quality of life could be improved if the tumor is partially removed and also the radiotherapy and chemotherapy is effective.

2. Craniotomy: As much as possible tumor is removed in craniotomy type of brain cancer treatment. The operation is done under general anesthesia and the skull is opened. Several holes are made in the skull by making several incisions. The holes are joined together by the bone saw and a flap of bone is created. The bone flap is further removed to expose the brain and the tumor is removed. The bone flap is then replaced and secured with a fine wire.

Certain complications might follow after craniotomy like bleeding, swelling, infection and damage of the brain tissue.

3. in lasermicrosurgery, MRI is used to locate the tumor and the tumor is destroyed with the help of laser. This is normally done after craniotomy.

4. Brain- Mapping: This brain cancer treatment is given under local anesthesia and sedation. Much tumor is removed without any damage to the important areas of the brain like control motor function and speech.

5. Post-operative care: This brain cancer treatment includes drug therapy. Corticosteroids, histamine inhibitors and antiepileptics are the drugs that are used. A wafer soaked with BCNU is placed in the surgical cavity after the removal of the tumor. The drug has quite a beneficial effect.

6. Radiation therapy: If the tumor cannot be surgically removed then radiation therapy is given. Most of the brain tumors are treated with external beam radiation which is most common even after the removal of primary tumor as cancer cells could be left behind in the brain tissue. The chances of survival in a patient doubles and can also have prolonged life with this brain cancer treatment.

External beam radiation is given from outside the body of the patient. This therapy is begun after almost two weeks of surgery and repeated after regular intervals. Hyperfractionation, a modified form of external beam radiation is more frequently given.

Stereotactic radiosurgery: In this brain cancer treatment by radiation, the radiation is given in a single dose. This does not involve surgery. A head frame supporting a CT or MRI scanner is attached to the skull. The exact location of the tumor is pinpointed with the help of computer imaging.

Radiation therapy does not destroy the surrounding healthy tissues.

7. Brachytherapy: In this kind of brain cancer treatment capsules containing radioactive substances are implanted into the tumor for localized radiation. This is often done to treat recurrent disease in the area which has been treated by external beam radiation.

The brain cancer treatment for metastatic brain tumors are:
1. Brain stem gliomas: are treated by hyperfractionated radiation therapy or biological therapy.
2. Pineal astrocytic tumors: Treatment includes surgery, radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy, a clinical trial of external radiation therapy, hyperthermia therapy or new methods of radiation therapy, clinical trial of new anticancer drugs and biological therapy.
3. Pilocytic Astrocytomas: The treatment is surgery with or without radiation therapy.
4. Diffuse Astrocytomas: Following are the brain cancer treatments given: Surgery along with radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy, clinical trial of external radiation therapy including hyperthermia or new methods of radiation therapy, a delayed clinical trial of radiotherapy until the tumor progresses, clinical trial of new anti cancer drugs along with biological therapy and a clinical trial of chemotherapy with different methods of radiation therapy.
5. Glioblastoma: The treatment includes: surgery with radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy, a clinical trial of chemotherapy placed in the brain during surgery, clinical trial of radiation, external radiation including hyperthermia or new methods of radiation therapy.
6. Meningeal tumors: The treatments of brain cancer for such tumors are: surgery with or without radiation therapy and radiation therapy for tumors which cannot be removed by surgery.
7. Germ cell tumors: The treatment normally depends on the type of cancer cells, the location of the tumor so that it can be removed by surgery.