Radiosurgery of brain metastases from renal cell carcinoma: how can you improve on results like this?
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Brain Neoplasms↗
Biomedical subjects
J C Flickinger
Publications and source records attributed to J C Flickinger.
Controversies in the management of multiple brain metastases: the roles of radiosurgery and radiation therapy.
Multiple brain metastases (BrM) are a common challenge to patients with cancer. Tumour resection is used mainly for patients with large tumours that cause acute neurological syndromes. The prognosis, even after treatment with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT), is poor with average expected survivals less than six months. For this reason, numerous centres have evaluated the role of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with solitary or multiple tumours. We conducted a randomised trial that compared radiosurgery plus WBRT to WBRT alone. The rate of local failure at one year was 100% after WBRT alone but only 8% in patients who had boost radiosurgery. The median time to local failure was six months after WBRT alone in comparison to 36 months after WBRT plus radiosurgery (p=0.0005). The median time to any brain failure was improved in the radiosurgery group (p=0.002). Survival was related to extent of extracranial disease (p=0.02). Combined WBRT and radiosurgery for patients with two to four BrM significantly improves control of brain disease. WBRT alone, for years the standard treatment, does not appear to provide lasting and effective care for most patients. Controversies remain in patient selection, number of BrM suitable for treatment, concomitant management of extracranial disease, and timing of therapy.
Brain Neoplasms↗
Neuroimaging of acoustic nerve sheath tumors after stereotaxic radiosurgery.
Using a strict method for measuring tumor size, we evaluated tumor response to radiosurgery in 88 patients with 89 acoustic tumors treated over 3 years with a 201-source cobalt-60 gamma unit. Overall, tumor size was unchanged in 73% of patients and increased in 4%. In 22% of patients, tumor diameter decreased an average of 4.9 mm 3-33 months after treatment. Tumor shrinkage occurred in 36% of 50 patients who were followed for at least 1 year after treatment. Loss of tumor contrast enhancement was seen in 79% of patients 1-18 months after treatment. Delayed communicating hydrocephalus developed in four patients. In eight patients, increased signal on T2-weighted MR images developed in the adjacent cerebellar peduncle (n = 5) or the peduncle and dorsolateral pons (n = 3) 5-15 months after treatment. T1-weighted MR imaging and CT were insensitive to these adjacent brain changes. Stereotaxic radiosurgery is an important alternative treatment for selected patients with acoustic tumors. There is no mortality or major perioperative morbidity, hospitalization time and costs are smaller than for microsurgery, patient employment or functional level is maintained, and hearing preservation and facial neuropathy rates are comparable to those in published microsurgical series. Although the rate of occurrence of trigeminal neuropathy is greater than those reported in published microsurgical series, the majority of cases are mild, transient, and nondebilitating. MR imaging before and after radiosurgery is the most sensitive imaging tool to evaluate tumor response, the presence of adjacent parenchymal signal changes, and ventricular size. With a mean follow-up time of 14.6 months, the rate of complications detected by neuroimaging is low and the tumor control rate is 96%.
Adolescent↗