Next Article in Journal
Pain Assessment during Conscious Sedation for Cervical Cancer High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy
Previous Article in Journal
Canadian Integrative Oncology Research Priorities: Results of a Consensus-Building Process
 
 
Current Oncology is published by MDPI from Volume 28 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Multimed Inc..
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Survival of Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer after a Diagnosis of Brain Metastases

1
Comprehensive Cancer Centre, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2
Juravinski Cancer Centre, Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Oncol. 2013, 20(4), 300-306; https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1481
Submission received: 2 May 2013 / Revised: 5 June 2013 / Accepted: 10 July 2013 / Published: 1 August 2013

Abstract

Background: The prognosis of patients with brain metastases from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poor. However, some reports suggest that patients with brain metastases at the time of initial diagnosis have a more favourable survival than do patients with advanced NSCLC without brain metastases. Methods: In a retrospective cohort of all new lung cancer patients seen at a Canadian tertiary centre between July 2005 and June 2007, we examined survival after a diagnosis of brain metastases for patients with brain metastases at initial diagnosis and patients who developed brain metastases later in their illness. Results: During the 2-year period, 91 of 878 patients (10.4%) developed brain metastases. Median age in this cohort was 64 years. In 45, brain metastases were present at initial diagnosis, and in 46, brain metastases developed later in the course of the illness. Median survival in the entire cohort was 7.8 months. Survival after the diagnosis of brain metastases was similar for patients with brain metastases at diagnosis and later in the illness (4.8 months vs. 3.7 months, p = 0.53). As a result, patients who developed brain metastases later in their illness had a longer overall survival than did patients with brain metastases at diagnosis (9.8 months vs. 4.8 months). Among patients who received chemotherapy, the survival of patients with brain metastases at diagnosis was still poor (6.2 months). Conclusions: Our data show limited survival in patients with brain metastases from NSCLC. Careful patient selection for more aggressive treatment approaches is necessary.
Keywords: early prognosis; late prognosis; whole-brain radiation; chemotherapy early prognosis; late prognosis; whole-brain radiation; chemotherapy

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Ali, A.; Goffin, J.R.; Arnold, A.; Ellis, P.M. Survival of Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer after a Diagnosis of Brain Metastases. Curr. Oncol. 2013, 20, 300-306. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1481

AMA Style

Ali A, Goffin JR, Arnold A, Ellis PM. Survival of Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer after a Diagnosis of Brain Metastases. Current Oncology. 2013; 20(4):300-306. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1481

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ali, A., J.R. Goffin, A. Arnold, and P.M. Ellis. 2013. "Survival of Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer after a Diagnosis of Brain Metastases" Current Oncology 20, no. 4: 300-306. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.20.1481

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop