A case report of long-term survival after radiotherapy for a solitary brain metastasis from breast cancer

This is the report of a patient with a solitary brain metastasis from breast cancer who survived more than 8 years after the first brain metastasis. The brain metastasis was treated with partial removal followed by 30 Gy/15 fructions of whole brain irradiation plus 20 Gy/10 fructions of local boost irradiation for 5weeks. Brain metastases from breast cancer are usually a sign of rapid systemic tumor progression and long-term survivors are extremely rare. However, this case demonstrated the possibility of long-term survival in rare cases of brain metastases from breast cancer. This suggests a need for aggressive therapy in patients with a solitary brain metastasis.     

Two cases with long-term disease-free survival after resection and radiotherapy for solitary brain metastasis from breast cancer with extensive nodal metastases

Two rare cases, each with a solitary brain metastasis from breast cancer with extensive nodal metastases as the first site of distant metastasis, were locally treated with surgery and irradiation. The outcome of the two treated cases indicated an excellent and non-recurrent post-therapeutic survival period of more than 3 and 8 years, respectively. In a 50-year-old woman (Case 1), a solitary brain metastasis was found to have developed after standard radical mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin and tegafur-uracil (UFT) and hormonal therapy with tamoxifen for left breast cancer. The brain metastasis was treated twice surgically followed by radiotherapy. One year and 6 months later, local recurrence of the brain metastasis appeared and was treated surgically again. No other treatment was done thereafter. Since then, no other distant or lymph node metastasis occurred, and to date her outcome has been non-eventful for 8 years and 5 months. In a 63-year-old woman (Case 2), a solitary brain metastasis was found to have developed after standard radical mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, epirubicin and fluorouracil (CEF) for right breast cancer. The brain metastasis was treated locally with surgery and irradiation of 50 Gy. She thereafter received no further treatments. Since then neither distant metastases nor local recurrence have developed, and to date the post-treatment outcome has been uneventful for 37 months. Our findings suggest that patients who developed a solitary brain metastasis as the first site of distant metastasis from breast cancer have a chance of achieving long-term disease-free survival when treated with aggressive local therapy, even in the presence of extensive lymph node metastases at the primary surgery site for breast cancer.     

Nonsmall cell lung cancer presenting with synchronous solitary brain metastasis

BACKGROUND: Solitary brain metastases occur in about 50% of patients with brain metastases from nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The standard of care is surgical resection of solitary brain metastases, or stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) plus whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT). However, the optimal treatment for the primary site of newly diagnosed NSCLC with a solitary brain metastasis is not well defined. The goal was to distinguish which patients might benefit from aggressive treatment of their lung primary in patients whose solitary brain metastasis was treated with surgery or SRS. METHODS: The cases of 84 newly diagnosed NSCLC patients presenting with a solitary brain metastasis and treated from December 1993 through June 2004 were retrospectively reviewed at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. All patients had undergone either craniotomy (n = 53) or SRS (n = 31) for management of the solitary brain metastasis. Forty-four patients received treatment of their primary lung cancer using thoracic radiation therapy (median dose 45 Gy; n = 8), chemotherapy (n = 23), or both (n = 13). RESULTS: The median Karnofsky performance status score was 80 (range, 60-100). Excluding the presence of the brain metastasis, 12 patients had AJCC Stage I primary cancer, 27 had Stage II disease, and 45 had Stage III disease. The median follow-up was 9.7 months (range, 1-86 months). The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates from time of lung cancer diagnosis were 49.8%, 16.3%, 12.7%, and 7.6%, respectively. The median survival times for patients by thoracic stage (I, II, and III) were 25.6, 9.5, and 9.9 months, respectively (P = .006). CONCLUSIONS: By applying American Joint Committee on Cancer staging to only the primary site, the thoracic Stage I patients in our study with solitary brain metastases had a more favorable outcome than would be expected and was comparable to Stage I NSCLC without brain metastases. Aggressive treatment to the lung may be justified for newly diagnosed thoracic Stage I NSCLC patients with a solitary brain metastasis, but not for locally advanced NSCLC patients with a solitary brain metastasis.     

Solitary brain metastases from carcinoma of the bladder

Summary We report 6 cases of solitary brain metastasis from bladder carcinoma. Although systemic metastases from this cancer are frequent, central nervous system metastases are rare. Analysis of our material and of published cases shows that the tumor is resistant to therapy and the prognosis is consequently very poor.     

Cerebellous metastases in patients with uterine cervical cancer. Two cases reports and review of the literature.

Brain metastases from cervical cancer are extremely rare. We report on two patients who developed cerebellous metastases following uterine cervical cancer. The interval between diagnosis of the primary cancer and diagnosis of brain metastasis was 8 months. The main complaint was symptoms of increased intracranial pressure and cerebellous syndrome. Surgical excision of the brain lesion followed by radiation therapy was performed in the first case. The second patient received palliative radiation therapy. The first patient died 8 months after diagnosis. The second patient is alive 2 months after diagnosis.     

Spontaneous remission of metastases of cancer of the uterine cervix

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous remission (SR) is the complete or incomplete disappearance of a disease or cancer despite no or inadequate treatment. SR is a rare event, and only 5 cases of SR of carcinoma of the uterine cervix have been reported so far. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a young woman suffering from carcinoma of the uterine cervix metastasized to the lung, pleura, bone, skin and brain. The primary tumor was removed. After diagnosis of the histologically proven metastases, further palliative treatment was inadequate, except for radiotherapy to the brain. In all other metastases, spontaneous remission occurred. 8 years after the initial diagnosis of metastasis, there is no evidence of active disease. CONCLUSION: SR is a rare but evident phenomenon. Individual features of malignant tumors should be taken into account much more when determining the best treatment for the patient.     

卵巢上皮性癌脑转移7例临床分析及文献复习

目的: 总结卵巢上皮性癌脑转移的临床特点,治疗方法及影响预后的因素。 方法: 回顾分析1986年1月～2007年3月北京协和医院收治的7例卵巢上皮性癌脑转移患者的临床资料,同时复习近5年相关文献中的160例脑转移患者临床资料,总结其治疗方法及影响预后的因素。 结果: 卵巢上皮性癌脑转移的发生率约为0.8%(124/15192)。病理类型以浆液性腺癌最为多见,78例(49.0%)。其中早期患者(Ⅰ～Ⅱ期)占17.0%,晚期患者占83.0%。病理学诊断应作为卵巢癌患者脑转移的金标准。自患者确诊卵巢癌到出现脑转移平均间隔时间14.4～42.0个月。脑转移灶为单发的患者占43.0%,57.0%为颅内多发转移;55.0%的患者存在颅外转移。颅压增高导致的头痛呕吐为常见的临床表现。血清CA125作为卵巢癌复发以及脑转移发生后病情监测的指标有一定应用价值。患者的生存期平均约12个月。治疗前应对患者进行全面正确的评估,选择合理的个体化治疗方案。治疗方法以手术联合放疗或放疗联合化疗等联合治疗效果较好,可以明显延长生存期。 结论: 卵巢上皮性癌脑转移比较少见,但随着卵巢癌患者治疗效果的提高及生存期的延长,其发病率逐渐上升,患者一旦出现脑转移,预后较差,联合治疗可以适当延长生存期。     

Long-term survival after successful surgical treatment of a solitary brain metastasis

Background We investigated the factors associated with survival duration in 9 patients with brain metastases who survived for more than 6 years, and focused on the factors associated with long survival. Methods Of 9 primary lesions, 5 were lung cancer, 1 was colon cancer, 1 was uterine cancer, 1 was choriocarcinoma, and 1 was renal cancer. All patients underwent total removal of a solitary brain metastasis. Of the 9 patients, 6 received chemotherapy and adjuvant radiation therapy, 1 patient received only radiation therapy, and 2 patients had no adjuvant therapy. Results The factors we isolated in the 9 long-term survivors were that they were relatively young, their systemic diseases were well controlled, there was a relatively long interval between diagnosis of the primary tumor and the brain metastasis, the metastatic lesion was located in the nondominant hemisphere, and the patients were generally in good condition or had only a mild neurologic deficit. Conclusion In some patients with controlled or absent extracranial tumor activity in whom a single brain metastatic tumor is identified after a prolonged period, surgery and local radiotherapy may provide hope for a long survival period.     

228例肺癌脑转移患者的临床观察#br#

目的探讨肺癌脑转移患者的临床及影像学特征。 方法回顾性分析2014年1月至2016年12月江苏省肿瘤医院放疗科诊治的228例肺癌脑转移患者的临床资料。 结果228例患者中男性140例,女性88例,中位年龄60岁,腺癌171例,小细胞癌35例,鳞癌22例。有脑转移症状者93例,无症状者135例。中位脑转移瘤确诊时间为5个月,890％患者在2年内确诊脑转移。1年内有、无颅外转移患者的中位脑转移瘤确诊时间分别为30个月和60个月,差异有统计学意义（P＜005）。脑实质转移227例,单纯幕上转移149例,单纯幕下转移15例,幕上、幕下均有转移63例。累及幕上者以顶叶（528％）和额叶（448％）最常见。原发灶不同病理类型的脑转移瘤单发及多发病灶分布情况的差异有统计学意义（P＜005）。 结论肺癌确诊患者2年内脑转移高发,其中1年内发生其他脏器转移者的脑转移风险更高。肺癌脑转移瘤常多发,转移灶多位于幕上。     

Excision of solitary brain metastases: Effect on survival

Retrospective analysis of 88 patients treated for brain metastases at Veterans Administration and Erie County Medical Centers, Buffalo, New York, between January 1975 and August 1980 is presented. Patients were followed until January 1981. They were classified into three groups: Group I—15 patients with solitary brain metastases treated by surgical excision followed by radiotherapy (SBM-S). Group II—32 patients with solitary brain metastases treated by radiotherapy alone (SBM-RT). Group III—41 patients with multiple brain metastases treated by radiotherapy (MBM-RT). The average survival was 216 days for the first group versus 80 and 106 days for the second and third groups, respectively. Three patients in the first group were still living at five, eighteen, and twenty-one months versus one patient each in the second and third group at five months. When brain metastases appeared either at time of presentation or within two months from the diagnosis of the primary disease, excision of solitary brain metastases did not prolong survival. Survival periods were 114, 53, and 81 days for Group I, II, and III, respectively. When brain metastasis appeared after a minimum of two months from the treatment of the primary lesion, excision of solitary brain metastasis did prolong patient survivals for 286 days versus 128 and 94 days for Groups I, II, and III, respectively. When the primary site of origin was inoperable lung cancer or unknown primary cancer no difference in survival between the three groups, survival was 80, 50, and 70 days for Groups I, II, and III, respectively. Percentage survival at 2, 6, and 12 months was 67%, 53%, and 27% in the first group versus 32%, 16%, and 3% for the second group and 41%, 15%, and 5% for the third group. We conclude that excision of solitary brain metastasis might prolong survival in selected patients.     

Prolonged survival after resection and radiotherapy for solitary brain metastases from non‐small‐cell lung cancer

Selected patients with brain metastases from non‐small‐cell lung cancer benefit from aggressive treatment. This report describes three patients who developed solitary brain metastases after previous resection of primary adenocarcinoma of the lung. Each underwent surgical resection of their brain metastasis followed by cranial irradiation and remain disease free 10 or more years later. Two patients developed cognitive impairment approximately 8 years after treatment of their brain metastasis, which was felt to be due to their previous brain irradiation. Here we discuss the treatment of solitary brain metastasis, particularly the value of combined method approaches in selected patients and dose–volume considerations.     

结直肠癌骨转移的临床特点及治疗(附104例)

目的:探讨结直肠癌骨转移的临床特点,提高结直肠癌骨转移诊疗水平.方法:通过对中国医科大学附属盛京医院2012年1月1日至2015年1月1日收治的104例结直肠癌骨转移患者资料进行回顾性分析,分析其临床特征,绘制生存曲线,总结诊疗规律.结果:2012年1月1日至2015年1月1日期间我院共收治结直肠癌骨转移患者104例,占同期结直肠癌患者的10.0%(104/1 038),其中结肠癌骨转移38例,直肠癌骨转移66例.多发骨转移60例(57.7%),单发骨转移44例(42.3%),常见转移部位依次为腰椎(38.5%)、骶骨(32.7%)、胸椎(30.8%)、肋骨(26.9%)、四肢骨(19.2%)、肩胛骨(3.8%)、颌面骨(1.9%).共有74例患者合并有远处脏器转移(71.2%),≥2处者46例,肺脏42例,肝脏40例,腹膜后淋巴结14例,腹股沟淋巴结6例,肾上腺4例,脑2例.确诊骨转移的中位时间为(26.1±3.3)个月.从确诊骨转移之日算起,中位生存期为(22.5±4.0)个月.结论:结直肠癌骨转移患者多合并远处脏器转移;直肠癌比结肠癌更易发生骨转移.     

Cerebral metastasis in patients with uterine cervical cancer

We report on eight patients who developed brain metastases following uterine cervical cancer. The mean interval between diagnosis of the primary cancer and diagnosis of the brain metastasis was 28.4 months (range: 6.1-61.8 months). Nausea and vomiting due to increased intracranial pressure were the most frequent symptoms. Surgical excision of the brain lesions, followed by postoperative radiotherapy, was performed in three patients. The other five patients received only cranial radiotherapy. When the metastatic brain lesions were detected, other distant metastatic lesions were confirmed at the same time in five patients. The median survival time after diagnosis of the brain metastases was only 3.0 months.      

Late brain metastases from breast cancer: clinical remarks on 11 patients and review of the literature

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Late brain metastases from breast cancer are a rare event. Only a few cases have been reported in the English literature. The authors describe the clinical and pathological remarks, together with treatment modalities, removal extent and overall survival, of 11 patients in whom brain metastases were detected more than 10 years from the primary tumor. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1997 and April 2001, we hospitalized 11 patients, all females, with a histologically proven diagnosis of brain metastasis from breast invasive ductal carcinoma. We defined 'late metastasis' as those metastases that appeared at least 10 years after the breast cancer diagnosis. The median age at the moment of brain metastasis diagnosis was 59 years (range, 47-70), with a median latency time from breast cancer diagnosis of 16 years (range, 11-30). RESULTS: Ten patients underwent surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (whole brain radiotherapy). Two of them received, after whole brain radiotherapy, stereotaxic radio surgery treatment. One patient had stereotaxic brain biopsy, performed by neuronavigator, followed by palliative corticosteroid therapy. Median survival after brain metastasis diagnosis was 28 months (range, 3 months-4 years). CONCLUSIONS: Although late brain metastases are a rare event, specific neurologic symptoms and neuroradiological evidence of a cerebral neoplasm should be correlated to the presence of a cerebral metastasis, in a patient with a previous history of breast cancer. The longer latency time from breast cancer to brain metastasis could be explained by the "clonal dominance" theory and by different genetic alterations of the metastatic cell, which could influence the clinical history of the disease.     

Sémiologie des métastases osseuses en radiologie conventionnelle

Bone metastases are detected at initial diagnosis of cancer in 25% of cases and bone metastases are common in the course of a majority of cancer types. The spine and proximal long bones are the most affected sites. Knowledge of the basic radiological semiology is important to make the proper diagnosis of metastasis(s) bone(s), especially in situations in which the clinical context is not suggestive of metastases (such as cases where bone metastases are inaugural or cases of peripheral solitary metastasis). Tumor aggressiveness can be assessed at the level of the cortical bone and periosteum. Lodwick criteria are useful for the diagnosis of malignancy and tumor aggressiveness at initial diagnosis on plain radiographs, which are very important in the context of bone metastases. A CT scanner is required to confirm the malignancy of a bone lesion. MRI is complementary to the scanner including for the assessment of bone marrow involvement and tumor extensions.     

Breast carcinoma with brain metastases: clinical analysis and immunoprofile on tissue microarrays

BackgroundDevelopment of brain metastasis in patients with breast carcinoma correlates with poor outcome. Identification of tumor characteristics associated with breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) could help identify patients at risk.Patients and methodsWe studied 209 patients with BCBM. We evaluated a panel of proteins relevant to the biology of breast carcinoma on tissue microarrays of 133 primary tumors and 56 BCBM, including paired samples from 43 patients, and correlated the findings with the clinical outcome.ResultsThe median survival after BCBM diagnosis was 19 months (95% confidence interval, 13–23 months). Patients presenting with solitary metastasis had a significantly longer median survival than those with multiple lesions (25 versus 11 months, P ≤ 0.0001). We found no significant discordance in the expression of tested markers, but identified a possible association between the expression of basal cytokeratin CK5/6 in the primary carcinoma and the development of multiple rather than solitary brain metastases.ConclusionsExpression of antigens commonly associated with breast carcinoma does not differ significantly between the primary tumor and the corresponding brain metastases. Although no specific immunoprofile identifies breast carcinomas that develop brain metastases, we observed a possible association between CK5/6 expression in the primary tumor and multiple versus solitary BCBM.     

Late brain metastases from colorectal cancer a case report and review of the literature

Metastatic brain tumors from colorectal cancer are relatively rare. In previous reports the incidence ranged from 1.9 to 3.5 percent of all metastatic brain tumors. In another recent article the cumulative incidence of brain metastasis was estimated at 1.2%. The prognosis for patients with even a single resectable brain metastasis is poor. This paper presents the case report of a 72-year-old woman with a solitary brain metastasis 16 years after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. She remained asymptomatic for 16 years. The first sign of a secondary tumor was diplopia. Brain scan demonstrated a space-occupying lesion in the occipital area. A solitary tumor was removed by craniotomy. Histological examination showed that it was a metastasis from the intestinal primary tumor. The patient subsequently underwent whole brain radiotherapy for a total dose of 30 Gy in 10 fractions.     

Toward determining the lifetime occurrence of metastatic brain tumors estimated from 2007 United States cancer incidence data

Few population estimates of brain metastasis in the United States are available, prompting this study. Our objective was to estimate the expected number of metastatic brain tumors that would subsequently develop among incident cancer cases for 1 diagnosis year in the United States. Incidence proportions for primary cancer sites known to develop brain metastasis were applied to United States cancer incidence data for 2007 that were retrieved from accessible data sets through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Wonder) and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program Web sites. Incidence proportions were identified for cancer sites, reflecting 80% of all cancers. It was conservatively estimated that almost 70 000 new brain metastases would occur over the remaining lifetime of individuals who received a diagnosis in 2007 of primary invasive cancer in the United States. That is, 6% of newly diagnosed cases of cancer during 2007 would be expected to develop brain metastasis as a progression of their original cancer diagnosis; the most frequent sites for metastases being lung and bronchus and breast cancers. The estimated numbers of brain metastasis will be expected to be higher among white individuals, female individuals, and older age groups. Changing patterns in the occurrence of primary cancers, trends in populations at risk, effectiveness of treatments on survival, and access to those treatments will influence the extent of brain tumor metastasis at the population level. These findings provide insight on the patterns of brain tumor metastasis and the future burden of this condition in the United States.     

Brain metastases in patients with no known primary tumor

BACKGROUND: The care of patients with a brain metastasis from unknown primary site is controversial. The authors reviewed the results of stereotactic radiosurgery in this group of patients to better define clinical expectations. METHODS: During an 11-year interval, radiosurgery was performed in 421 patients with brain metastases at the University of Pittsburgh. Fifteen patients had solitary or multiple (< or = 5) brain metastases without a detectable primary site at the time of initial presentation. In five patients, a histologic diagnosis of cancer was obtained from extracranial metastatic sites. In 10 patients, a diagnosis was obtained from the brain. A total of 31 tumors with a mean volume of 4.3 mL (range, 0. 05-18.6 mL) underwent radiosurgery with a mean marginal dose of 16.2 Gray (Gy) (range, 12-20 Gy). Fourteen patients (93.3%) also received whole brain fractionated radiation therapy. RESULTS: The median survival was 15 months after radiosurgery (range, 1-48 months) and 27 months after their initial diagnosis of cancer. In 4 patients (26. 7%), the primary tumor was discovered later (lung in 3 patients and liver in 1). Three of these four patients died due to progression of their primary tumor. Of the remaining 11 patients, 4 died of progression of extracranial metastases, 2 died of other systemic diseases, and 3 patients died because of progression of brain metastasis. Three patients (20%) were still living between 21-48 months after radiosurgery. The presence of active systemic disease and brain stem location both were associated with a poor outcome (P = 0.004 and 0.04). The actuarial imaging-defined local tumor control rate was 91.3 +/- 5.9% at 4 years. CONCLUSIONS: Radiosurgery was an effective strategy for patients with brain metastases from an unknown primary site. Disease progression outside of the brain was the usual cause for patient death.