• Yanhe Li, Desheng Xu, Zhiyuan Zhang, Yipei Zhang, Dong Liu, Xiaomin Liu, Guokai Wang, and Yiguang Lin.
• Department of Neurosurgery and Gamma Knife Center, Tianjin Medical University 2nd Hospital, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
• J. Neurosurg. 2012 Dec 1; 117 Suppl: 13-6.

ObjectThe goal of this study was to assess neuroimaging and clinical outcomes in patients harboring brainstem metastases that were treated with the Leksell Gamma Knife.MethodsTwenty-eight patients with brainstem metastases (32 lesions: 8 midbrain, 21 pontine, and 3 medullary) were consecutively treated with GKS. The primary cancer diagnoses in this group included 22 cases of lung cancer, 5 cases of breast cancer, and 1 case of rectal cancer. The median age of the patients was 61 years (range 45-83 years). The median treated lesion volume was 0.78 cm(3) (range 0.03-5.6 cm(3)), and the median GKS margin dose was 16 Gy (range 12-20 Gy). Overall survival in these patients was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.ResultsThe median survival time was 9 months after GKS (range 2-32 months). Survival was 39.3% at 1 year and 10.7% at 2 years. The tumor control rate in the series was 90.6% (29 of 32 lesions). Development of peritumoral edema occurred in 1 patient after GKS; 4 months after GKS, the edema disappeared.ConclusionsGamma Knife surgery using a median margin dose of 16 Gy is a safe and effective local therapy for patients with brainstem metastases.

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