The Judicious Use of Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy in the Management of Large Brain Metastases

摘要

Brain metastases are the most common cause of cancerous brain tumors in adults. Large brain metastases are an especially difficult clinical scenario as patients often have debilitating symptoms from these tumors, and large tumors are more difficult to control with traditional single treatment radiation regimens alone or after surgery. Hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy is a novel way to deliver the higher doses of radiation to control large tumors either after surgery (most common), alone (common), or potentially before surgery (uncommon). Herein, we describe how delivering high doses over three or five treatments may improve tumor control and decrease complication rates compared to more traditional single treatment regimens for brain metastases larger than 2 cm in maximum dimension.