Brain mets: Very interesting study...

Well, I wasn't in this study, (and had alternative type focalized rads) but this explains my still being here:

1: J Neurosurg. 2005 Jan;102 Suppl:262-5. Related Articles, Links


Prolonged survival in a subgroup of patients with brain metastases treated by gamma knife surgery.

Yu CP, Cheung JY, Chan JF, Leung SC, Ho RT.

Gamma Knife Centre, Canossa Hospital, Hong Kong, China. cpyu@thebraincentre.org

OBJECT: The authors analyzed the factors involved in determining prolonged survival (> or = 24 months) in patients with brain metastases treated by gamma knife surgery (GKS). METHODS: Between 1995 and 2003, a total of 116 patients underwent 167 GKS procedures for brain metastases. There was no special case selection. Smaller and larger lesions were treated with different protocols. The mean patient age was 56.9 years, the mean number of initial lesions was 3.15, and the mean lesion volume was 10.45 cm.3 The mean follow-up time was 9.2 months. The median patient survival was 8.68 months. One-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year actuarial survival rates were 31.8%, 19.8%, 14.6%, 7.7%, and 6.9%, respectively. Patient age, number of lesions at presentation, and lesion volume had no influence on patient survival. Twenty-three (19.8%) patients survived for 24 months or more. Certain factors were associated with increased survival time. These were stable primary disease (21 of 23 patients), a long latency between diagnosis of the primary tumor and the occurrence of brain metastases (mean 28.4 months, median 16 months), absence of third-organ involvement, and repeated local procedures. Ten patients underwent repeated GKS (mean 3.4 per patient). Seven patients required open surgery for local treatment failures (recurrence or radiation necrosis). Two patients had both. Fifteen patients underwent repeated procedures.

CONCLUSIONS: Aggressive local therapy with GKS, repeated GKS, and GKS plus surgery can achieve increased survival in a subgroup of patients with stable primary disease, no third-organ involvement, and long primary-brain secondary intervals.

PMID: 15662822 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Thanks Patty, that was interesting. Only on a site like this would you find so many people who would be interested in reading about brain tumors and how well the gamma knife seems to deal with them!

Peggy in Florida

[Lolly]

It's great to see some data coming out on GK, to support the real-life experiences of those on this board who've been aggressive in going after those brain mets with GK and doing what ever necessary to remain stable in body. Inspiring!

<3,
Lolly