| Abstract: | Radiosurgery is being used more routinely to treat patients with inoperable, recurrent, or multiple brain metastases from systemic cancer. Results in >2000 treated patients have been published during the past 8 years. These results indicate that permanent local control can be obtained in >80% of treated lesions with complications in <10% of patients. Success is independent of the histology, ie, melanoma vs adenocarcinoma, of the treated lesion or number of lesions treated. The long-term results of radiosurgery compare favorably with those seen following surgical resection. The cost-effectiveness of radiosurgery compared to surgical resection favors an expanded role for this technology in the treatment of selected patients with brain metastases. |
