[Evaluation of recurrent metastatic brain tumor of lung cancer origin]

The authors examined numerous clinical features in 15 patients in whom brain metastases from lung cancer recurred after total or subtotal removal. The incidence of recurrence after initial removal of brain nodules was 46.9% (15 of 32 cases). There was no significant correlation between the incidence of recurrence and the histology of the lung cancer, the site of brain nodules, or age. Recurrent brain nodules were the cause of or contributed to death in 60% of recurrent cases. Recurrence was within 3 months of initial removal of brain nodules in 10 of the 15 patients. Brain metastasis recurred only at the initial site in 11 cases (73.3%). Three patients developed carcinomatous meningitis and one had multiple metastases in addition to recurrence or regrowth at the original site. The primary lung cancer was relatively stable at the time of recurrence of brain nodules in 60% of the patients. Tumor removal and radiotherapy are highly recommended for prevention of early recurrence following initial removal of brain metastases. Removal of metastatic tumor is advised in the event of recurrence after 1 year from initial surgery, since the outcome after second surgery tends to be fair. However, tumor removal and radiotherapy are sometimes capable of inducing recurrence of brain nodules. Therefore, it is hoped that more effective cancer chemotherapy will be developed in the near future.