June 2006

MHH Clinical Departments establish Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumor Board

Press release Stefan Zorn Administrative Unit Communications, MHH

Ten Departments work even more closely together in the fight against cancer

Hannover Medical School (MHH) is further strengthening its expertise in the treatment of cancer: under the leadership of the Neurosurgical Clinical Department headed by Director Prof. Dr. Joachim K. Krauss, ten departments at the university have joined forces to form the Central Nervous System (CNS) Tumor Board. The Neurology Department of the Henriettenstiftung is also part of the new group.

A large number of patients with rare, sometimes very complex tumor diseases that also affect the CNS are treated at the MHH. "These people need very special, interdisciplinary, coordinated care," emphasizes Professor Krauss. In most cases, multimodal therapy is required, consisting of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The difficult, complex cases are now discussed by representatives of the individual specialist disciplines at the bi-weekly meetings of the CNS Tumor Board. Dr. Makoto Nakamura, spokesperson for the CNS Tumor Board, sums up the benefits for patients. "The duration of treatment is shortened because we can better interlink the individual phases." In addition, the treatment of extremely rare diseases will be optimized.

In the first sessions, the physicians discussed such rare cases as a special tumor disease of the pineal gland, which is located centrally in the brain. So far, only nine such cases have been described worldwide. "We can then exchange information with international colleagues very quickly," says Dr. Nakamura. Even a four-year-old patient whose brain tumor was considered inoperable has now been successfully treated.

Another advantage of the CNS Tumor Board at the MHH: "We sit around a table, not in a virtual chat room," explains Professor Krauss. This allows for a lively and very profitable discussion. The MHH Departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology, Neuroradiology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Oncology, Pediatric Oncology, Otorhinolaryngology, Ophthalmology and Neuropathology/Pathology are involved.