Radiotherapy for brain metastases of the breast cancer

Twenty-two patients with brain metastases of breast cancer treated by irradiation between 1974 and 1983 were reviewed. Significant neurologic improvement was obtained in 80 %. The median duration of symptomatic palliation caused by irradiation and the median survival from the diagnosis of brain metastases were 3.0 months and 5.0 months, respectively. As a favorable prognosis can be expected for patients showing good performance, minor neurologic disorders, a long latent period between the first treatment of the primary lesion and the onset of the brain metastasis, and without extracranial metastases, irradiation with more than 40 Gy is recommended. Sequential CT examinations were useful to judge the effectiveness of treatment. (author)