Brain metastases from colon cancer

Between 1977 and 1980 we evaluated 40 patients who developed brain metastases from colon cancer (4% of total patients with colon cancer). The brain metastasis was discovered in only one patient prior to cancer diagnosis; all others had known colon cancer for 2 to 48 months (median 24.5 months) prior to neurologic presentation. The colon tumor was left-sided in 32; 32 had regional lymph node metastases at neurological presentation; 37 patients had extensive systemic metastasis as well as the brain lesion. Median survival from onset of therapy for brain metastasis was 9 weeks in 32 radiation therapy (RT) treated patients (range, 2-57 weeks), 37 weeks in 7 surgically resected patients (2-84 weeks), and 4 weeks (3.5 weeks) in 2 chemotherapy patients. Follow-up demonstrated recurrent tumor (median 4 months). The prognosis for patients with brain metastasis in colon cancer is poor, regardless of therapy.