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    Brain tumors

    Beijing Tiantan Hospital and Huashan Hospital rank first and second in China for neurosurgery and operate on very large numbers of gliomas, meningiomas, pituitary and skull-base tumors every year.

    Updated October 22, 2026 · Editorial team

    About brain tumors

    Brain tumors may be benign, such as most meningiomas and pituitary adenomas, or malignant, such as gliomas and brain metastases. Treatment depends on the tumor type, its location and, for gliomas, molecular markers that are now part of the World Health Organization classification.

    Symptoms

    Symptoms include persistent headaches, seizures, weakness or numbness on one side, changes in vision, speech or personality, and hormone problems with pituitary tumors. New neurological symptoms always need urgent medical assessment.

    Diagnosis

    MRI with contrast is the key test. Advanced MRI and PET may help with planning. After surgery or biopsy, pathology and molecular testing give the final diagnosis.

    Treatment in China

    • Microsurgery with neuronavigation, intraoperative monitoring and, at some centers, intraoperative MRI.
    • Awake surgery for tumors near language or motor areas.
    • Endoscopic endonasal surgery for pituitary and skull-base tumors.
    • Stereotactic radiosurgery for small or residual tumors.
    • Radiotherapy and chemotherapy for gliomas, guided by molecular profile, and proton therapy for selected tumors.

    Why patients choose China

    Tiantan Hospital is home to the China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases and the Beijing Neurosurgical Institute. Huashan’s neurosurgery department, long led by academician Zhou Liangfu, is one of the largest in China. The volume of complex cases gives both teams exceptional experience.

    Treatments available in China

    Gamma Knife radiosurgery

    Gamma Knife radiosurgery treats small brain tumors, vascular malformations and some functional disorders with a single, precisely focused dose of radiation, usually without a hospital stay.

    Proton and heavy-ion therapy

    Proton and carbon-ion (heavy-ion) therapy are forms of particle radiotherapy that, for some tumors, concentrate the radiation dose in the tumor while sparing more surrounding tissue. China has a small but growing number of centers.

    Top hospitals in China for Neurosurgery

    Fudan 2023 reputation score · bars are relative to the leader in this specialty.

    1. 1 Beijing Tiantan Hospital Beijing 11.3
    2. 2 Huashan Hospital, Fudan University Shanghai 9.8
    3. 3 West China Hospital, Sichuan University Chengdu 6.3
    4. 4 Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University Beijing 6.1
    5. 5 Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Hangzhou 4.8
    6. 6 Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Tianjin 3.8
    7. 7 Chinese PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital) Beijing 3.7
    8. 8 Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University Xi’an 2.4
    9. 9 Xiangya Hospital, Central South University Changsha 2.2
    10. 10 China-Japan Friendship Hospital Beijing 2.1
    Nominated hospitals (20)

    Source: Fudan University Hospital Management Institute, China Hospital Specialty Reputation Ranking (2023 edition).

    Hospitals to consider

    Specialists

    Neurosurgery Huashan Hospital, Fudan University
    Clinical focus
    • Neurosurgery
    • Neuropathology research
    Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (2009)

    Frequently asked questions

    Which scans should I send for a brain tumor second opinion?

    An MRI with contrast in DICOM format (not only photos of the films), the radiology report, the pathology report with molecular markers such as IDH and 1p/19q if surgery was done, and a short summary of symptoms.

    Is radiosurgery available instead of open surgery?

    For small tumors such as some meningiomas, schwannomas and metastases, stereotactic radiosurgery (for example Gamma Knife) can be an alternative. The neurosurgical team decides based on size, location and tumor type.

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