Radiotherapy for cerebral metastases in children

Twelve children with cerebral metastases from non-lymphomatous primary tumors are reviewed. Eleven were treated with radiotherapy and four are alive without clinical or radiographic evidence of intracranial tumor 2-7 1/2 years later. Three of the four survivors are free of neurologic impairments. Eight patients died within two months of detection of cerebral metastases. There were no obvious differences between those patients who survived and those who did not, concerning the primary tumor, age at diagnosis, duration of symptoms or the interval from the primary to the cerebral metastases. All survivors are male.