Survival for Patients with Brain Metastases

Contact:Katherine Egan Bennett703-227-0156[email protected]

Lesley Nevers703-227-0141[email protected]

Whole Brain Radiotherapy plus Radiosurgery May Improve Survival for Patients with Brain Metastases

Patients with brain metastases who receive radiotherapy -- small doses of radiation given over the course of 10 to 15 days -- and stereotactic radiosurgery -- a one-time shot of high-dose radiation --show an extensive improvement in survival, according to a new study.

Published in the October issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, the study suggests the combination of the two treatments may help increase the median survival of patients with brain metastases, which currently is less than six months.

Titled "Radiosurgery for Patients with Brain Metastases: A Multi-Institutional Analysis Stratified by the RTOG Recursive Partitioning Analysis Method," the study looked at 502 eligible patients from 10 institutions and considered known factors that could have an effect on the outcome. Gender, age, primary site, radiosurgery technique and institution were not prognostic, while absence of extracranial metastases, control of the primary lesion and performance status were.

If you would like to speak with an author of the study, please contact Seema Sanghavi, M.D., at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center, N.Y. at (212) 604 -- 6081 or Minesh Mehta, M.D., at University of Wisconsin Hospital Medical School, Wis., at (608) 263-5009. Alternatively, you can contact ASTRO and we will help you to schedule an interview.

ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 6,700 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer and other diseases.

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