Vertebral tumor care at Mayo Clinic
Your Mayo Clinic care team
Vertebral tumor experts at Mayo Clinic work in teams to provide you with excellent care. Care teams include neuroradiologists, neuropathologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, neurologists with subspecialty expertise in tumor diagnosis and management, rehabilitation specialists, and other professionals who work together to provide exactly the care you need.
Having all this expertise in a single place, focused on you, means that you're not just getting one opinion — your care is discussed among the team, your test results are available quickly, appointments are scheduled in coordination, and the most highly specialized vertebral tumor experts in the world are all working together for you.
What might take months to accomplish elsewhere can typically be done in a matter of days at Mayo Clinic.
Advanced diagnosis & treatment
Research in the Mayo Clinic Neuro-Oncology Program includes finding ways to use technology for earlier diagnosis of vertebral tumors. Research also looks at ways to improve surgical techniques to facilitate safe tumor removal, avoid late complications related to tumor removal and identify which tumors are safe to monitor rather than remove.
Depending on the location of the tumor, your surgical team might include thoracic, orthopedic, cardiac, general and plastic surgeons. At Mayo Clinic, surgeons from different specialties often work together. They use the latest technological advances available, including tools such as computer-assisted navigation to precisely direct the surgery.
Radiation therapy for vertebral tumors requires precise planning to avoid hurting the nearby spinal cord. Radiation oncologists use the latest treatment techniques to carefully plan and deliver radiation to the tumor and minimize radiation to nearby structures. Examples include intensity-modulated radiation therapy and stereotactic body radiotherapy.
Mayo Clinic is one of a limited number of healthcare facilities in the United States that offers a Proton Beam Therapy Program. Proton therapy is a type of radiation that uses energy from protons. The proton beams can be shaped so that they deliver the energy to exactly the right spot to hurt the tumor cells.
Expertise and rankings
The top experts at Mayo Clinic have extensive experience caring for people with vertebral tumors. Experts work in teams to provide you with exactly the care you need. These teams include neuroradiologists, neuropathologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, neurologists with subspecialty expertise in tumor diagnosis and management, rehabilitation specialists, and other professionals.
At Mayo Clinic, you can expect:
- Advanced diagnostic and treatment capabilities. Mayo Clinic offers rapid diagnostic testing and assessments by a team of skilled experts. Neurologists and neurosurgeons work with experienced tissue analysts to identify vertebral tumors.
- Comprehensive cancer center. Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a U.S. National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
- Experience you can trust. Mayo Clinic doctors trained in spine conditions and spinal surgery have experience in evaluating and treating adults and children with vertebral tumors, including very rare types.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery and for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.
Learn more about Mayo Clinic's neurology and neurosurgery departments' expertise and rankings.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.