Ependymoma treatment options include:

Surgery

Brain surgeons, called neurosurgeons, work to remove as much of the ependymoma as possible. The goal is to remove the entire tumor. Sometimes the ependymoma is located near sensitive brain or spinal tissue that makes that too risky.

If the entire tumor is removed during surgery, additional treatment may not be needed. If some tumor remains, the neurosurgeon may recommend another operation to try to remove the rest of the tumor. Additional treatments, such as radiation therapy, may be recommended for cancerous tumors or if all of the tumor can't be removed.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy uses powerful energy beams to kill tumor cells. The energy can come from X-rays, protons or other sources. During radiation therapy, a machine directs beams of energy to specific points to kill the tumor cells there.

Radiation therapy may be recommended after surgery to help prevent cancerous tumors from coming back. It also may be recommended if neurosurgeons weren't able to remove the tumor completely.

Some special types of radiation therapy help focus the radiation treatment on the tumor cells. These special types of radiation may reduce the risk of damage to nearby healthy cells. Examples include conformal radiation therapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy and proton therapy.

Radiosurgery

Stereotactic radiosurgery is an intense form of radiation treatment. It aims beams of radiation from many angles at the tumor. Each beam isn't very powerful. But the point where the beams meet gets a very large dose of radiation that kills the tumor cells.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses medicines to kill tumor cells. Chemotherapy isn't often used to treat ependymoma. It might be an option in certain situations, such as when the tumor grows back despite surgery and radiation.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy uses medicines that attack specific chemicals in the tumor cells. By blocking these chemicals, targeted treatments can cause tumor cells to die. Targeted therapy might be an option to treat an ependymoma that comes back after treatment.

Clinical trials

Clinical trials are studies of new treatments. These studies offer a chance to try the latest treatment options, but the risk of side effects may not be known. Talk with your healthcare team if you're interested in a clinical trial.