Brain & Spine Cancer

At MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, our multi-disciplinary approach to patient care ensures you receive the best possible treatment. Our MUSC Health Brain & Spine Tumor Program at Hollings Cancer Center offers you the highest level of neuro-oncology care through an experienced team with state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology and breakthrough laboratory research.

Over the years, the Brain & Spine Tumor Program has expanded the types of tumors we treat through advances in medical and surgical therapies and a broadened array of clinical trials. As a result, you have access to extraordinary neuro-oncology services close to home.

We’re Here For You

At Hollings, we know a cancer diagnosis can be a life changing event. We are here to support you through your journey. Call 843-792-9300 and make an appointment. Experience what sets us apart.

Treatment and Support

Our team of brain and spine cancer specialists use a collaborative approach and state-of-the-art technology to deliver treatment to you. By implementing the latest advancements, Hollings offers what few others in the state can, which includes:

• Gamma Knife Center – We have one of only two Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexions in South Carolina. They’re considered the gold standard for non-invasive management of benign and malignant brain tumors, vascular malformations, and other abnormalities of the head and neck. Using this radiosurgery technology, tumors that might be difficult or impossible to manage with other techniques can often be treated safely and quickly. Open-skull incisions are unnecessary and the sub-millimeter accuracy of the Gamma Knife minimizes dose exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
• Skull Base Center – If you have a skull base disorder, you face special challenges because this area is so complex. With experts in neurological surgery, head and neck surgery, orbital surgery, and plastic surgery, we are ready to treat your complex lesions using the latest microsurgical techniques. The level of collaboration between ENT (rhinologists and head and neck surgeons) and neurosurgery is the highest in the state.
• Pediatric Brain Tumor Program – We know that children with brain cancer need more than smart doctors. They need a medical team that sees them as the amazing individuals they are. Whether your child’s cancer is benign or malignant, our specialists work with you to ensure our expertise in pediatric neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, neuroradiology, and radiation oncology gives your child the best care possible. We offer highly advanced diagnostic and imaging technology, dedicated lab facilities, and a collaborative approach to planning. We also offer unique therapeutic options ranging from minimally invasive neurosurgery to cutting-edge medical protocols.
• Glioblastoma – Using advances in medical and surgical therapies, along with an array of clinical trials, doctors at Hollings can offer support for you if you have this aggressive type of cancer.
• Pituitary Tumor Program – Comprehensive pituitary disorder care has been a specialty at MUSC since the early 1990s, with more than 1,500 patients treated. Your pituitary tumors will be treated by a multi-disciplinary team of neurosurgeons, ophthalmologists, endocrinologists, oncologists, radiologists, radiation oncologists and ENT surgeons. You may also be a candidate for advanced, minimally invasive surgical procedures performed in our state-of-the-art operating room, which has both microscopic and endoscopic surgical capabilities and a dedicated neurosurgical staff.
• Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit – The 23-bed neuroscience intensive care unit is dedicated to patients with critical neurologic problems. This unit is staffed by dedicated neurointensivists.

Refer a brain cancer patient

To refer a brain cancer patient to Hollings, please call patient referral coordinator Kelly Fehr at 843-985-0577.

Nurse navigator support

Our brain and spine cancer nurse navigator, Janequa McKnight, BSN, RN, will help you understand what to expect during treatment and answer questions you may have.

Prevention and Screenings

Doctors at Hollings can accurately diagnosis and develop a detailed treatment plan that is tailored to you. The Brain & Spine Tumor Program uses the latest MRI scanners with dedicated imaging protocols for evaluation of brain tumors, including:

• MR Perfusion – Evaluation of blood vessels and blood supply to brain tumors, also used to distinguish tumor from treatment effects.
• MR Spectroscopy – Chemical analysis of brain tissue to determine tumor type and distinguish tumor from treatment effects.
• Functional MRI (fMRI) – Maps brain activity for treatment planning.
• Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) – Shows white matter tracts important for preoperative planning.
• Nuclear Medicine Imaging Techniques – FDG-PET/CT scans used to analyze metabolic activity in tumors to determine tumor type, margins and response to treatment, and Fusion (coregistration) of PET/CT and MR images to more precisely establish tumor extension and treatment effects.
• Imaging Innovations – Image-guided systems for minimally invasive procedures using both MRI and CT imaging to locate and remove tumors as well as portable CT scanners for immediate results.

Hollings also uses video EEG monitoring that allows doctors to monitor seizure activities.

Brain & Spine Cancer Research

Clinical research at Hollings in brain and spine cancer allows us to better treat you and offer critical alternative treatments to those who may need it. Some recent research includes:

• Improving brain surgery and reducing patient recovery time thanks to advancements in BrainPath.
• Studying a subgroup of pediatric brain tumors that tends to be particularly deadly.

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