Brain and Spine Metastases Clinic
The neuro-oncology multispecialty team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and UW Medicine has a wide breadth of expertise in both primary brain cancers and in brain and spinal cord metastases. At the Fred Hutch Brain and Spine Metastases Clinic, we specialize in treating patients with a primary cancer that has spread to the brain and spine, known as brain and spine metastases, as well as cancer that has spread to the cerebrospinal fluid, known as leptomeningeal metastasis. Fred Hutch is one of the only centers in the U.S. with expertise in central nervous system metastases.
Treatment Tailored to Each Patient
Our medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and surgeons are among the nation’s most knowledgeable and respected physicians in brain and spine oncology. Each week, a team of multispecialty providers — including expert physicians, nurses and researchers — meets to discuss, evaluate and plan each patient’s individualized care.
Through the Fred Hutch Brain and Spine Metastases Clinic, we offer the most advanced treatment options available, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. We also provide access to novel clinical trials for patients with brain and spine metastasis. We work closely with the Gamma Knife Center at Harborview Medical Center, Fred Hutch – Proton Therapy and the Alvord Brain Tumor Center at UW Medical Center – Montlake.
At Fred Hutch, we also offer our patients robust supportive care services such as nutrition, social work, palliative care, cancer rehabilitation services and psychiatry. It is important to us to care for our patients as a whole person, not just the disease or cancer.
Conditions We Treat
- Brain Metastasis
- Spine Metastasis
- Leptomeningeal Metastasis
- Central Nervous System Metastases (CNS) Lymphoma
Meet the Team
At Fred Hutch, you receive care from a team of providers with extensive experience in your disease.
Anubhav Amin, MD
Dr. Anubhav Amin is a neurosurgeon who specializes in spinal oncology and has additional experience in spinal radiosurgery. His clinical and research interests include spinal metastases, primary bone tumors, and spinal cord tumors. He sees patients at Fred Hutch’s Neuro-oncology clinic and the Neurological surgery clinic at UW Medical Center.
Kathryn "Molly" Blau, MD, MS
Dr. Molly Blau is a radiation oncologist who treats patients with brain and spinal cord tumors, and gynecologic cancers. She sees patients at Fred Hutch’s Radiation Oncology clinic and Harborview Medical Center.
Sam Emerson, MD, PhD
Dr. Sam Emerson is a neurosurgeon with expertise in primary brain tumors, skull base tumors, metastases and the conduct of clinical trials. He sees patients at Fred Hutch’s Neuro-oncology clinic and at the Neurological surgery clinic at UW Medical Center.
Jacob Ruzevick, MD
Dr. Jacob Ruzevick is a neurosurgeon who treats the entire spectrum of cranial oncology, including primary, metastatic, and skull base tumors at Fred Hutch’s Neuro-oncology clinic, the Neurological surgery clinic at UW Medical Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Vyshak Venur, MD
Dr. Vyshak Venur is a neuro-oncologist specializing in treating patients with central nervous system (CNS) metastases — cancers that have spread to the brain, spinal cord or spinal fluid from elsewhere in the body. He sees patients at Fred Hutch’s Neuro-oncology clinic and UW Medical Center’s Alvord Brain Tumor Center.
Jonathan Yang, MD, PhD
Dr. Jonathan Yang is a radiation oncologist specializing in treating metastatic cancers in the body and in the central nervous system, including cancers that have spread to the brain, spine, and cerebrospinal fluid. He sees patients at Fred Hutch’s Neuro-oncology clinic, Fred Hutch’s Proton Therapy center, and Harborview Medical Center.