One-Day Two-Fraction Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases Using Gamma Knife

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a one-day two-fraction Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for brain metastases.

Ten cases with ten brain metastases (four cases of lung adenocarcinoma, one small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), two renal cell carcinoma, one breast cancer, one esophageal carcinoma, and one bile duct carcinoma) were treated by one-day two-fraction (with an interval of more than six hours) GKRS under rigid skull frame fixation. Of the ten brain metastases, five lesions were in the frontal lobe, one in temporal, one in occipital, and three in the cerebellar hemisphere. The mean planning target volume (PTV) of the ten brain tumors was 7.8 ml (median, 8.0; range, 3.8 - 11.8). The ten targets of the mean prescription isodose volume (PIV) of 10.1 ml (median, 10.1; range, 4.4 - 15.9) were treated with a mean margin dose of 20.4 Gy (median, 20.5; range, 16.4 - 22) in two fractions. In five cases, other small brain metastases (one to seven tumors) were also treated simultaneously in a single fraction GKRS. The indication of two-fraction radiosurgery was large lesion size in eight, retreatment in three, the proximity of the motor area in three, and pre-existing perifocal edema symptom of dysarthria in two, nausea and vomiting in one, and dementia in one.

Eight cases were alive at the end of the follow-up period of one to nine months (median, 6). One patient with SCLC died four and a half months after GKRS, from aggressive regrowth of the treated frontal lesion after transient marked shrinkage. Another patient died four months after GKRS due to the progression of other brain tumors treated by single fraction GKRS at the same time. In nine of 10 cases, the size of the treated tumors was controlled until the end of the follow-up period or the patient's death. In two cases, an additional GKRS was performed for newly developed brain metastases at distant locations at six months and five months after one-day two-fraction GKRS, respectively, and controlled at the end of the follow-up period.

A relatively high dose may be safely delivered to large lesions, to those close to the important structures, or those with perifocal edema by one-day two-fraction radiosurgery. Local control was good except for a relapsed SCLC metastasis case. Evaluation in more cases with a longer follow-up period is necessary to determine definite indications and optimal prescription doses.