Seizures or fits
A first seizure in an adult always warrants brain imaging.
Cancers We Treat
Brain tumours demand
Brain tumours demand
millimetre precision.
There are over 120 types of brain tumour — benign and malignant, primary and metastatic — and each calls for a different plan. AARO's neuro-radiation programme is anchored by stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS): single-session or short-course radiation delivered with sub-millimetre accuracy.
120+Types of brain tumour
1–5SRS sessions, typically
2ndLeading cause of cancer death in children
Image · placeholderDr Daniel Tan in consultation with a patient — discussing brain imaging and radiosurgery options.
Image · placeholderAnatomy illustration — the brain with tumour locations marked
Brain Cancer · What is it
Benign or malignant — both matter.
Brain tumours are masses of abnormal cells growing uncontrollably in the brain. Benign tumours don't invade surrounding tissue or spread — but inside the fixed space of the skull, even a benign tumour can compress and damage the brain as it grows. Malignant tumours invade and can be faster-growing, graded 1 to 4 by how aggressive they are.
Cancer can also spread to the brain from elsewhere in the body — secondary (metastatic) brain tumours, which in adults are more common than primary ones. They most often occur in people who have had cancer before.
Tumours are named for the cells they arise from: gliomas (including astrocytomas and glioblastoma), meningiomas, medulloblastomas, pituitary adenomas, germ cell tumours and CNS lymphomas among them. Each has a different outlook — and a different treatment plan. In Singapore, astrocytomas and glioblastoma multiforme are the most common primary types.
Brain Cancer · Symptoms
When to see a doctor.
Symptoms usually relate to where in the brain the tumour sits, and to rising pressure inside the skull. Many can also be caused by other conditions — but persistent or progressive symptoms need assessment.
Persistent headaches
Especially headaches that are worse in the morning, or accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
Balance & coordination
Problems with balance, coordination or walking, or numbness and weakness on one side of the body.
Vision changes
Double vision or abnormal eye movements.
Speech & memory
Difficulty with speech or understanding, or lapses in memory.
Personality changes
Changes in behaviour, personality or drowsiness noticed by you or those around you.
Brain Cancer · Diagnosis
How brain cancer is diagnosed.
Modern neuro-imaging usually identifies a tumour's location and likely type before any procedure — and precise imaging is also what makes radiosurgery possible.
Image · placeholderNeurological examination in the consult room
Neurological assessment
A clinical examination of vision, hearing, balance, coordination, strength and reflexes maps which brain regions are affected.
Image · placeholderBrain MRI series on the review console
MRI imaging
Contrast-enhanced MRI is the core investigation — defining the tumour's size, location and relationship to critical structures.
Image · placeholderNeurosurgical planning illustration
Biopsy or resection
Where needed, tissue is obtained surgically or stereotactically to confirm the tumour type and grade.
Image · placeholderPathology — molecular marker report
Molecular profiling
For gliomas and selected tumours, molecular markers refine both prognosis and the treatment plan.
Brain Cancer · Risk factors
What raises your risk?
Most brain tumours arise without an identifiable cause — but some factors raise risk.
Prior radiation
Exposure to high levels of ionising radiation, particularly during childhood, raises long-term risk.
Genetic syndromes
Neurofibromatosis types 1 and 2, tuberous sclerosis, Von Hippel–Lindau disease and Li-Fraumeni syndrome are associated with brain tumours.
Family history
A family history of the genetic disorders above warrants awareness and, in some cases, surveillance.
Weakened immunity
A weakened immune system is associated with CNS lymphoma in particular.
Prior cancer
A history of cancer elsewhere is the main risk factor for brain metastases — new neurological symptoms deserve prompt imaging.
Age patterns
Different tumour types cluster at different ages — some are most common in children, others in older adults.
Brain Cancer · Treatment
How AARO treats brain cancer.
Treatment is tailored to tumour type, grade and location — often combining surgery, radiation and systemic therapy. Radiosurgery has transformed what can be treated without opening the skull.
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)
Single-session or short-course radiation delivered with sub-millimetre accuracy — for metastases, meningiomas, acoustic neuromas and selected tumours.
Fractionated radiotherapy (VMAT/IMRT)
Precisely shaped multi-week courses for gliomas and tumours needing wider or gentler coverage.
Chemoradiation
Radiation combined with chemotherapy — the standard backbone for high-grade gliomas.
Proton therapy referral
For selected cases — particularly children — AARO assesses and coordinates proton therapy with regional centres.
Brain Cancer · Precision
Hours of planning, for one careful treatment.
Every plan at AARO goes through detailed contouring, dose simulation, and independent physics review before a single beam is delivered. We do this so the radiation hits exactly the tissue that needs it — and avoids the healthy tissue around it.
Image · placeholderTwo AARO radiation therapists at the planning console, reviewing a treatment plan together on a multi-monitor workstation.
We plan every dose.
Our medical physicists and radiation therapists collaborate on each plan — contouring tumour and organs-at-risk, simulating dose distribution, and independently checking every parameter before delivery.
Image · placeholderAn AARO team member reviewing verification imaging at the console — daily image guidance before treatment.
We verify every session.
Imaging before each fraction confirms the target's position to the millimetre — so tight margins stay safe, and healthy tissue stays out of the high-dose region.
Image · placeholderA patient comfortably positioned beneath the Elekta linear accelerator with green laser positioning lights and the signature starry ceiling above.
Brain Cancer · What to expect
Quiet, precise, uneventful.
Each treatment session takes 15–30 minutes. You'll lie on a precision treatment couch beneath the linear accelerator. Positioning lasers and daily imaging align you to within a millimetre of the planned position.
You won't feel the radiation as it's delivered. There's no anaesthesia, no recovery time, and no overnight stay. Most patients drive themselves home after the session and return to normal activities the same day.
Image · placeholderThe four senior AARO specialists at the Centre for Stereotactic Radiosurgery.
Brain Cancer · Your specialists
Meet Dr Daniel Tan→
Sub-specialist care.
AARO's neuro-radiation programme is led by sub-specialists in SRS for brain and skull-base tumours — the same consultant plans your treatment and follows you through it.
Dr Daniel TanSRS · SBRT · Brain · Spine · Prostate
Dr Jonathan TehGU · Head & Neck · GI · Sarcoma · Paediatric
Recently diagnosed? Or seeking a second opinion?
Book a 45–60 minute specialist consultation. We'll review your imaging and pathology, explain the options that apply to your case, and answer your questions.