Results of recent therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer with brain metastasis as the initial relapse

The results of radiosurgery for treatment of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer with brain metastasis as the initial relapse were evaluated. Twenty-three patients were included in the study. The dominant pathologic type was adenocarcinoma (56.5%). In the mean interval of 13.7 months (range, 3-52 months) between the lung operation and treatment of brain metastasis, a solitary lesion developed in 9 patients and multiple lesions developed in 14 patients. The modalities used for brain metastasis were gamma-knife radiation therapy (GKS) in nine patients, GKS plus operation in six, GKS plus whole brain radiation therapy (WBR) in two, operation plus WBR in two, operation only in one, WBR only in two, and no treatment in one. The 1- and 3-year survival rates after treatment of brain were 47.3% and 7.4%, respectively. The prognostic impact of stage and number of brain metastases was not clear. Primary tumor size and adjuvant chemotherapy after the lung operation significantly affected survival after the management of brain metastasis. The low invasive radiosurgery is beneficial in terms of improving the quality of life of patients.