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Adult CNS Radiation Oncology pp 471–484Cite as

Postoperative Treatment for Brain Metastasis

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Abstract

With the advancement of systemic therapies leading to an increase in survival, and the improvement in imaging’s ability to detect smaller lesions, the incidence of brain metastases is expected to rise. Surgery and radiation remain the main tools in the treatment of brain metastases. In the postoperative setting, the latter can be administered to the whole brain (i.e. WBRT) or in one or few high-dose fractions to the surgical cavity (i.e. radiosurgery). This addition of radiation to the surgical cavity, whether by WBRT or radiosurgery, has been shown to improve local control. However, both adjuvant treatments have been associated with very different side effect profiles. WBRT has been associated with global neurotoxicity, while radiosurgery (SRS) is associated with a risk of local radionecrosis. Decisions regarding adjuvant treatment thus have important consequences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Hospitalier de l’Universite de Montreal (CHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada

    G. Laura Masucci & David Roberge

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  1. G. Laura Masucci
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  2. David Roberge
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Correspondence to David Roberge .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, Norris Cancer Hospital, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Eric L. Chang

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

    Paul D. Brown

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Simon S. Lo

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Arjun Sahgal

  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    John H. Suh

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Masucci, G.L., Roberge, D. (2018). Postoperative Treatment for Brain Metastasis. In: Chang, E., Brown, P., Lo, S., Sahgal, A., Suh, J. (eds) Adult CNS Radiation Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42878-9_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42878-9_33

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