Some large and/or aggressive pituitary tumors respond well to standard irradiation or stereotactic radiosurgery as adjunct therapy to neurosurgery. The Department of Radiation Oncology provides expertise in this area and offers the most state-of-the art radiation treatment technologies to tailor the treatment to individual patient needs.  

Services Offered

• Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) treatments are performed using a dual energy Varian linear accelerator with multi-leaf collimator, 2100 EX.
• Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) using the Varian Trilogy which has on-board imaging and cone beam computed tomography (CT) capabilities allowing exquisite accuracy for daily treatments
• Robotic Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) using the Cyberknife radiosurgery system achieves the most advanced and accurate radiation treatment. This device converges multiple pencil-beams of radiation to deliver precise doses of radiation to the tumor while sparing the normal tissue. As pioneers of the Cyberknife technology, the Stanford Radiosurgery team is the most experienced in the world. The frameless platform of Cyberknife distinguishes it from other radiosurgery systems and allows radiosurgery to be applied to a wider range of clinical situations than standard radiosurgery systems.
• Three-dimensional treatment planning using both CT and MRI imaging is accomplished with a dosimetrist, physicist, and a Radiation Oncologist experienced in recognizing and treating many rare and complex tumor types.
• Radiation treatment is delivered by dedicated, highly skilled radiation therapists.