The role of stereotactic radiation therapy and whole-brain radiotherapy in the treatment of multiple brain metastases

Objective: To summarize the results of stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) with or without whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in the treatment of multiple brain metastasis. Methods: From May 1995 to April 2010, totally 98 newly diagnosed multiple (2 - 13 lesions) brain metastases patients were treated in our centre. Forty-four patients were treated with SRT alone and 54 with SRT + WBRT. Dose fractionation schemes were 15 -26 Gy in 1 fraction or 24.0 -52.5 Gy in 2 - 15 fractions with 3.5 - 12.0 Gy per fraction, depending on the tumor volume, location, and history of prior irradiation. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used for survival analysis. The median age of the whole group was 55 years. The survival time was calculated from the date of radiation treatment to the day of death by any cause. Results: The median follow-up time for the whole group was 12 months, and the follow-up rate was 100%. The median overall survival time was 13.5 months for the whole group, there was no difference between SRT alone group and SRT + WBRT group (13.0 months vs. 13.5 months, χ2 =0.31, P =0.578). The Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) at the time of treatment (χ2 =6.25, P =0.012), the interval between the diagnosis of the primary tumor and brain metastases (χ2 =7.34, P =0.025) and the status of extracranial metastases (χ2 =4.20, P =0.040) were independent prognosis factors for survival in multivariate analyses. Conclusions: Stereotactic radiation therapy is an effective and alternative treatment choice for multiple brain metastases. (authors)