Dresden University Medicine Leads in Rare Brain Tumor Treatment – World Cancer Day Focus
Dresden, February 4, 2026 – On World Cancer Day, Dresden University Medicine (UKD) highlights its leading role in the treatment of rare brain tumors, emphasizing the complex challenges and specialized care required for these patients.
Challenges of Rare Brain Tumors:
Primary brain tumors, occurring in 20-25 people per 100,000 annually in Germany, present unique difficulties due to their proximity to critical brain structures – cranial nerves, sensory organs, and major blood vessels. Diagnosis is complex, and treatment demands highly specialized expertise.
UKD’s Specialized Center:
The Department of Neurosurgery at the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, under the direction of Prof. Ilker Eyüpoglu, is a leading center for brain and skull base tumor treatment and research. The team performs numerous complex procedures annually, coupled with intensive research to improve understanding and treatment of these diseases.
Patient Success Story: Karl Maximus Seidemann
The case of Karl Maximus Seidemann illustrates the importance of specialized care. Facing rapid vision loss due to a craniopharyngiomic tumor pressing on his optic nerve, he underwent emergency surgery at UKD. Prof. Eyüpoglu successfully removed the tumor, restoring Seidemann’s vision. He is now in outpatient follow-up, with ongoing hormonal balance monitoring.
Advanced Technology & Comprehensive Expertise:
UKD utilizes state-of-the-art technology, including MRI imaging, angiography, continuous electrophysiological monitoring, and advanced navigation systems, alongside microsurgical and endoscopic techniques. This allows for safe and individualized treatment, even in complex cases.
Research Driving Improved Patient Care:
Recent research from UKD has identified new molecular connections in skull base tumors, directly impacting clinical practice and surgical planning. Key findings include:
- Olfactory Meningiomas: A majority exhibit genetic changes influencing growth.
- Skull Base Tumors: Anatomical factors (size, bony changes, swelling) impact smell preservation.
- Foramen Magnum Meningiomas: Genetic changes correlate with location and structure, aiding safer surgery.
- Pituitary Adenomas: Identification of factors influencing growth hormone and IGF-1 levels post-treatment, enabling personalized aftercare.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration & National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT/UCC) Dresden:
UKD’s success is rooted in close collaboration between basic research, clinical practice, and disciplines like neurosurgery, oncology, and radiation medicine, facilitated by the NCT/UCC Dresden. This integration ensures rapid translation of research into improved patient care, attracting complex cases from across Germany and Europe.
Quotes:
- Prof. Ilker Eyüpoglu: “Our goal with these procedures is to carry them out as safely as possible and at the same time to preserve the patients’ neurological functions as best as possible…The combination of extensive surgical experience, state-of-the-art technology and a deep biological understanding of tumors now allows us to provide highly individualized therapy, even with extremely complex findings.”
- Prof. Esther Troost: “This research work exemplifies how closely basic research, interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-oriented cutting-edge medicine are linked in Dresden in order to continuously improve diagnostics, therapy and aftercare.”
- Prof. Uwe Platzbecker: “This close integration forms the basis for high treatment quality and continuous medical progress. This means we are able to provide the highest level of care for even complex cases from all over Germany and even Europe.”
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Ilker Y. Eyüpoglu
Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Neurosurgery
Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital at the Technical University of Dresden
Tel. +49 351 458-2883
www.ukdd.de/nch
