Melanoma and renal cell carcinoma have a well-documented tendency to develop metastases to the brain. Treating these lesions has traditionally been problematic, because chemotherapy has difficulty crossing the blood brain barrier and whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) is a relatively ineffective treatment against these radioresistant tumor histologies. In recent years, stereotactic radiosurge...

BACKGROUND Physical activity has been shown to positively impact cancer-related fatigue, physical functioning and quality of life outcomes in early stage cancer patients, however its role at the end stage of cancer has yet to be determined. Brain metastases are amongst the most common neurological complications of advanced cancer, with significant deterioration in fatigue and quality of life. T...

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in many countries. Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents about 85% of lung cancer [1]. Approximately 30–40% of patients with NSCLC present with metastases, which have a preferential localization to the liver, bones, adrenal glands and central nervous system (CNS) [2]. Brain metastases are a frequent finding in patients with NSCLC ...

Background Patient sociodemographic factors such income, race, health insurance coverage, and rural residence impact a variety of outcomes in patients with cancer. The role of brain metastasis at presentation and its subsequent outcomes have not been well characterized in this patient population. Results Multivariate analysis revealed that median income lower than $50,000 was associated with ...

Background: Brain metastases are frequently seen in neurosurgical practice. Standardised criteria created to better classify these common pathologies research studies. This study’s goal was evaluate RANO-BM criteria’s current thresholds a cohort of patients with brain managed by SRS. Methods: We performed retrospective metastasis-level analysis treated SRS for metastases. The data collected inc...

BACKGROUND The incidence of symptomatic brain metastases in small-cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder (SCBC) is unknown. This precludes advice about prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI). PATIENTS AND METHODS The medical records of all patients with SCBC seen at The Netherlands Cancer Institute from 1993 to 2009 (n = 51) were reviewed. Limited disease (LD) was defined as any pT, cN₀₋₁, and...

Brain metastases are unfortunately very common in the natural history of many solid tumors and remain a life-threatening condition, associated with a dismal prognosis, despite many clinical trials aimed at improving outcomes. Radiation therapy options for brain metastases include whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). SRS avoids the potential toxicities of WBRT and...

Nasopharyngeal cancer is unique among head and neck cancers. Despite definitive treatment, there is a high rate of recurrence, most commonly in the bone, lung or liver. Brain metastases and particularly, leptomeningeal carcinomatosis are extremely rare. We present a case of recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma with brain metastases and leptomeningeal carcinomatosis in the absence of local recurre...

BACKGROUND Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents approximately 13 to 18% of all lung cancers. It is the most aggressive among lung cancers, mostly presented at an advanced stage, with median survival rates of 10 to12 months in patients treated with standard chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In approximately 15-20% of patients brain metastases are present already at the time of primary diagnosis...

The brain is one of the most frequent locations of metastasis in malignant melanoma. We aimed to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and local tumor control (LC) in patients with malignant melanoma metastasized to the brain treated by multimodal therapy. All patients diagnosed with malignant melanoma brain metastases between 1992 and 2011 at a single center were registered (n=...