Chemotherapy of cerebral metastases from solid tumors

With proper staging, patients with parenchymal brain metastases from solid tumors are usually found to have widespread extracranial disease. Systemic chemotherapy offers the potential advantage of simultaneous therapy of both intracranial and extracranial tumor. Limited data is available on the efficacy of drug therapy alone in this patient population for selected patients with chemosensitive malignancies and brain metastases, systemic chemotherapy administration represents a useful treatment modality when given at presentation or following recurrence after surgery or radiation therapy.