Clinical Features and Prognosis of Lung Cancer with Brain Metastasis

Lee, Kyung Eun; Nam, Eun Mi; Lee, He Jin; Nam, Seung Hyun; Kim, Do Yeun; Im, Seock Ah; Seong, Chu Myung; Lee, Soon Nam; Lee, Kyung Ja

doi:2001.33.3.250

Cancer Research and Treatment > Volume 33(3); 2001 > Article

Original Article

Cancer Research and Treatment 2001;33(3): 250-255. doi: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2001.33.3.250

Clinical Features and Prognosis of Lung Cancer with Brain Metastasis

Kyung Eun Lee, Eun Mi Nam, He Jin Lee, Seung Hyun Nam, Do Yeun Kim, Seock Ah Im, Chu Myung Seong, Soon Nam Lee, Kyung Ja Lee

¹Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, EwhaWomans University, Seoul, Korea.
²Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, EwhaWomans University, Seoul, Korea.

Published online: June 30, 2001.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE:
Brain metastasis is estimated to occur in 20~40% of solid tumor patients and the most common primary tumor is lung cancer. Even though the prognosis of brain metastasis is grave and the 1-year survival rate is only 15%, symptom palliations are made with whole brain radiation therapy. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical features and prognostic factors of lung cancer with brain metastasis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
From January 1987 to October 1999, 50 lung cancer patients with brain metastasis underwent whole brain radiation therapy. We reviewed the improvement in neurologic symptoms and survival according to the following parameters; performance status, histological type, presence of brain metastasis at the initial diagnosis of lung cancer, presence of extracranial metastasis, multiplicity of brain lesion, presence of primary lung symptom and treatment modalities.
RESULTS:
The most frequent symptom with brain metastasis was a headache (50%). Palliation of the headache and other symptoms was achieved in 81% of the patients. Median overall survival after brain metastasis was 21 weeks and the 1 year survival rate was 15%. Patients without extracranial metastasis had a longer median survival than those with, 38 weeks versus 15 weeks, respectively (p=0.01).
CONCLUSION:
In lung cancer with brain metastasis, neurologic symptoms can be palliated with whole brain radiation therapy, and in this study among such patients, absence of extracranial metastasis can be a good prognostic factor.

Key words: Lung cancer;Brain metastasis;Whole brain radiation therapy;Prognostic factors