Cancer Treatment Reviews
Volume 31, Issue 4 , Pages 256-273 , June 2005

Radiotherapeutic management of brain metastases: A systematic review and meta-analysis

  • May N. Tsao

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiation Oncology, Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ont., Canada M4N 3M5
    • University of Toronto, Department of Radiation Oncology, 150 College Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3E2
  • ,
  • Nancy S. Lloyd

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, DTC, 3rd Floor, Hamilton, Ont., Canada L8S 4L8
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author.
  • ,
  • Rebecca K.S. Wong

      Affiliations

    • University of Toronto, Department of Radiation Oncology, 150 College Street, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5S 3E2
    • Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, 610 University Ave, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5G 2M9
  • ,
  • Eileen Rakovitch

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiation Oncology, Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ont., Canada M4N 3M5
  • ,
  • Edward Chow

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiation Oncology, Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ont., Canada M4N 3M5
  • ,
  • Normand Laperriere

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, 610 University Ave, Toronto, Ont., Canada M5G 2M9
  • ,
  • the Supportive Care Guidelines Group of Cancer Care Ontario’s Program in Evidence-based Care

      Affiliations

    • Cancer Care Ontario Program in Evidence-based Care, 1280 Main Street West, DTC, 3rd Floor, Hamilton, Ont., Canada L8S 4L8

References 

  1. Loeffler JS, Patchell RA, Sawaya R. Treatment of metastatic cancer. In:  Devita VT,  Hellman S,  Rosenberg SA editor. Cancer: principles and practice of oncology. 5th ed.. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven Publishers; 1997;p. 2523
  2. Posner JB. Neurologic complications of cancer. vol. 37. Philadelphia: FA Davis; 1995;p. 85
  3. Walker AE, Robins M, Weinfield FD. Epidemiology of brain tumours: the national survey of intracranial neoplasms. Neurology. 1985;35:219–226
  4. Arbit E, Wronski M. The treatment of brain metastases. Neurosurgery. 1995;5:1
  5. Cairncross JG, Kim JH, Posner JB. Radiation therapy for brain metastases. Ann Neurol. 1980;7:529–541
  6. Browman GP, Levine MN, Mohide EA, et al. The practice guidelines development cycle: a conceptual tool for practice guidelines development and implementation. J Clin Oncol. 1995;13(2):502–512
  7. Tsao MN, Lloyd NS, Wong RKS, the Supportive Care Guidelines Group of Cancer Care Ontario’s Program in Evidence-based Care. Clinical practice guideline on the optimal radiotherapeutic management of brain metastases. Manuscript submitted for publication 2004.
  8. Jadad A, Moore R, Carroll D, et al. Assessing the quality of reports of randomized clinical trials. Is blinding necessary?. Controlled Clin Trials. 1996;17:1–12
  9. Hall EJ. Time, dose, and fractionation in radiotherapy. In:  John J-R,  Pamela Sutton P,  Deirdre Marino D editor. Radiobiology for the radiologist. 5th ed.. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2000;p. 412
  10. Mintz AH, Kestle J, Rathbone MP, et al. A randomized trial to assess the efficacy of surgery in addition to radiotherapy in patients with single brain metastasis. Cancer. 1996;78:1470–1476
  11. Noordijk EM, Vecht CJ, Haaxma-Reiche H, et al. The choice of treatment of single brain metastasis should be based on extracranial tumour activity and age. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1994;29:711–717
  12. Patchell RA, Tibbs PA, Walsh JW, et al. A randomized trial of surgery in the treatment of single metastases to the brain. N Engl J Med. 1990;322:494–500
  13. Patchell RA, Tibbs PA, Regine WF, et al. Postoperative radiotherapy in the treatment of single metastases to the brain. JAMA. 1998;280(17):1485–1489
  14. Andrews DW, Scott CB, Sperduto PW, et al. Whole brain radiation therapy with or without stereotactic radiosurgery boost for patients with one to three brain metastases; phase III results of the RTOG 9508 randomised trial. The Lancet. 2004;363:1665–1672
  15. Horton J, Baxter DH, Olson KB, et al. The management of metastases to the brain by irradiation and corticosteroids. Am J Roent Rad Ther Nucl Med. 1971;3:334
  16. Haie-Meder C, Pellae-Cosset B, Laplanche A, et al. Results of a randomized clinical trial comparing two radiation schedules in the palliative treatment of brain metastases. Radiother Oncol. 1993;26:111–116
  17. Borgelt G, Gelber R, Kramer S, et al. The palliation of brain metastases: final results of the first two studies by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1980;6:1–9
  18. Borgelt B, Gelber R, Larson M, et al. Ultra-rapid high dose irradiation schedules for the palliation of brain metastases: final results of the first two studies by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1981;7:1633–1638
  19. Chatani M, Teshima T, Hata K, et al. Whole brain irradiation for metastases from lung carcinoma. A clinical investigation. Acta Radiol Oncol. 1985;24:311–314
  20. Chatani M, Matayoshi Y, Masaki N, et al. Radiation therapy for brain metastases from lung carcinoma. Prospective randomized trial according to level of lactate dehydrogenase. Strahlenther Onkol. 1994;170:155–161
  21. Harwood AR, Simpson WJ. Radiation therapy of cerebral metastases: a randomized prospective clinical trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1977;2:1091–1094
  22. Kurtz JM, Gelber R, Brady LW, et al. The palliation of brain metastases in a favourable patient population: a randomized clinical trial by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1981;7:891–895
  23. Murray KJ, Scott C, Greenberg H, et al. A randomized phase III study of accelerated hyperfractionation versus standard in patients with unresected brain metastases: a report of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 9104. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1997;39:571–574
  24. Priestman TJ, Dunn J, Brada , et al. Final results of the Royal College of Radiologists trial comparing two different radiotherapy schedules in the treatment of cerebral metastases. J Clin Oncol. 1996;8:308–315
  25. DeAngelis LM, Currie VE, Kim JH, et al. The combined use of radiation therapy and lonidamide in the treatment of brain metastases. J Neurooncol. 1989;7:241–247
  26. Eyre HJ, Ohlsen JD, Frank J, et al. Randomized trial of radiotherapy versus radiotherapy plus metronidazole for the treatment of metastatic cancer to brain. J Neurooncol. 1984;2:325–330
  27. Komarnicky LT, Phillips TL, Martz K, et al. A randomized phase III protocol for the evaluation of misonidazole combined with radiation in the treatment of patients with brain metastases (RTOG-7916). Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1991;20:53–58
  28. Mehta MP, Rodrigus P, Terhaard CH, et al. Results from the phase III trial of motexafin gadolinium (MGd) in brain metastases [abstract]. Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol 2002;21:72a. Abstract 286.
  29. Mehta MP, Rodrigus P, Terhaard CH, et al. Survival and neurologic outcomes in a randomized trial of motexafin gadolinium and whole-brain radiation therapy in brain metastases. J Clin Oncol. 2003;21:2529–2536
  30. Phillips TL, Scott CB, Leibel S, et al. Results of a randomized comparison of radiotherapy and bromodeoxyuridine with radiotherapy alone for brain metastases: report of RTOG trial 89-05. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1995;33:339–348
  31. Chougule PB, Burton-Williams M, Saris , et al. Randomized treatment of brain metastases with gamma knife radiosurgery, whole brain radiotherapy or both [abstract]. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2000;48:114
  32. Kondziolka D, Patel A, Lunsford L, et al. Stereotactic radiosurgery plus whole brain radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for patients multiple brain metastases. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1999;45(2):427–434
  33. Postmus PE, Haaxma-Reiche H, Smit EF, et al. Treatment of brain metastases of small-cell lung cancer: comparing teniposide and teniposide with whole brain radiotherapy – a phase III study of the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Lung Cancer Cooperative Group. J Clin Oncol. 2000;18:3400–3408
  34. Robinet G, Thomas P, Breton JL, et al. Results of a phase III study of early versus delayed whole brain radiotherapy with concurrent cisplatin and vinorelbine combination inoperable brain metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer: Groupe Française de Pneumo-Cancerologie (GFPC) protocol 95-1. Ann Oncol. 2001;12:59–67
  35. Ushio Y, Arita N, Hayakawa T, et al. Chemotherapy of brain metastases from lung carcinoma: a controlled randomized study. Neurosurg. 1991;28:201–205
  36. Antonadou D, Coliarakis N, Paraskevaidis M, et al. Whole brain radiotherapy alone or in combination with temozolamide for brain metastases. A phase III study [abstract]. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2002;54:93.
  37. Mornex F, Thomas L, Mohr P, et al. Randomized phase III trial of fotemustine versus fotemustine plus whole brain irradiation in cerebral metastases of melanoma. Cancer Radiother. 2003;7(1):1–8
  38. Gaspar L, Scott C, Rotman M, et al. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) of prognostic factors in three Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) brain metastases trials. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1997;37(4):551–745

PII: S0305-7372(05)00081-2

doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2005.04.007

Cancer Treatment Reviews
Volume 31, Issue 4 , Pages 256-273 , June 2005