Radiotherapy for intracranial metastasis from primary lung cancer

Between 1972 to 1979, 51 patients with brain metastasis from lung cancer were given radiation therapy at National Cancer Center Hospital of Kyushu. The crude survival rates of all cases inclusive were 45.5% at 6 months and 11.6% at one year. All the patients alive at 6 months received a total dose of 4000 rad or more. Five survived longer than one year, but they were all irradiated with 6000 rad or more for solitary metastasis in the brain. There was no statistically significant difference either in the survival rate or palliative index between the group with a daily dose of 300 rad and that with 150 - 200 rad. We conclude that the radiotherapy is a worthwhile palliative means for brain metastasis from lung cancer. (author)