Expert review of neurotherapeutics
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Expert Rev Neurother · Jul 2005
ReviewStereotactic radiosurgery with and without whole-brain radiotherapy for newly diagnosed brain metastases.
Brain metastases develop in 20-40% of cancer patients and can cause significant morbidity. In selected patients with one to three lesions, stereotactic radiosurgery may be used to improve local control. ⋯ Its benefits should be evaluated in the context of risks of neurocognitive deterioration, either from whole-brain radiotherapy or from uncontrolled brain metastases, and the possible need for salvage treatments with the omission of initial whole-brain radiotherapy. For certain radioresistant brain metastases, the benefit of whole-brain radiotherapy to patients who have stereotactic radiosurgery is uncertain.