[Jackie07]

The threads below contain previous postings by Beatriz:

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...359#post252359

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...836#post269836


Please let her know we are thinking of/praying for her.

Here's another thread on the same subject: http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=54229

An abstract about the incidence and risk factors:

J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2012 Sep;52(3):193-9. doi: 10.3340/jkns.2012.52.3.193. Epub 2012 Sep 30.
Incidence and risk factors for leptomeningeal carcinomatosis in breast cancer patients with parenchymal brain metastases.

Jung JM, Kim S, Joo J, Shin KH, Gwak HS, Lee SH.
Source

Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of study is to evaluate the incidence of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) in breast cancer patients with parenchymal brain metastases (PBM) and clinical risk factors for the development of LMC.
METHODS:

We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients who had undergone surgical resection (SR) and 156 patients with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) as an initial treatment for their PBM from breast cancer in our institution and compared the difference of incidence of LMC according to clinical factors. The diagnosis of LMC was made by cerebrospinal fluid cytology and/or magnetic resonance imaging.
RESULTS:

A total of 27 patients (14%) in the study population developed LMC at a median of 6.0 months (range, 1.0-50). Ten of 27 patients (37%) developed LMC after SR, whereas 17 of 156 (11%) patients who received WBRT were diagnosed with LMC after the index procedure. The incidence of LMC was significantly higher in the SR group compared with the WBRT group and the hazard ratio was 2.95 (95% confidence interval; 1.33-6.54, p<0.01). Three additional factors were identified in the multivariable analysis : the younger age group (<40 years old), the progressing systemic disease showed significantly increased incidence of LMC, whereas the adjuvant chemotherapy reduce the incidence.
CONCLUSION:

There is an increased risk of LMC after SR for PBM from breast cancer compared with WBRT. The young age (<40) and systemic burden of cancer in terms of progressing systemic disease without adjuvant chemotherapy could be additional risk factors for the development of LMC.

PMID:23115660[PubMed] PMCID:PMC3483318Free PMC Article


Images from this publication.See all images (2) Free text
Fig. 1
Kaplan-Meier curve for time to development of LMC after treatment of the parenchymal brain metastases plotted for 183 patients in our study. Y-axis represents the proportion of patients without LMC at each follow-up time at the X-axis. 27 patients developed LMC (14%) during the follow-up. LMC : leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis in Breast Cancer Patients with Parenchymal Brain Metastases
J Korean Neurosurg Soc. 2012 September;52(3):193-199.