Hyperglycemia is associated with poor survival in patients with brain metastases treated with radiotherapy

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a negative prognostic factor in patients with brain metastases (BM). It is unknown whether a direct impact of serum glucose levels on survival exists. We aimed to detect a potential association of serum glucose levels before and during radiotherapy with survival in patients with BM.

Patients were included in this retrospective exploratory analysis if at least three fasting and non-fasting serum glucose test results before or during treatment were available. Survival was analyzed with uni- and multivariate Cox regression concerning an association with fasting and maximum glucose levels and regarding potentially confounding dexamethasone intake.

A total of 62 patients with BM (15 with and 47 without DM) were included. Patients with a mean fasting glucose of more than 7.8 mmol/l (upper quartile) showed significantly shorter survival compared to patients of the lower three quartiles (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.05, p = 0.021). Further, maximum blood glucose levels of > 12.0 mmol/l (upper quartile) were associated with shorter survival (HR = 1.95, p = 0.035). In the subset of patients without DM, a trend toward worse survival in patients with higher fasting glucose levels was observed (HR = 2.54, p = 0.099). The negative association of high maximum glucose levels with survival persisted in multivariate analysis independently of steroid administration.

Strong elevations of fasting and maximum serum glucose levels were associated with a worse prognosis in patients with BM with and without DM. This observation warrants further analysis in larger cohorts and has potential implications for clinical practice.