Intracranial metastases: behavioral patterns related to primary site and results of treatment by whole brain irradiation

Three hundred and fifty cases of tumors that metastasized to the brain and treated by radiotherapy were reviewed. The majority of patients had either lung (46 % I or breast (42 % ) primaries. Eighty percent of the patients had other sites of metastatic involvement. Seventy-five percent of the patients improved after cranial irradiation. The median survival was less than 6 months, regardless of the primary disease or the dose employed. No subgroup could be identified that might benefit from a more aggressive treatment regimen. Radiation treatment in the range of 2,000 rad in one week or 3,000 rad in two weeks is recommended for palliation of metastatic cancer to the brain.