A modern strategy of combined surgical and radiation treatment in patients with brain metastases

Abstract

The treatment standards for patients with brain metastases have been developed for several decades. An important element in the evolution of approaches to the treatment of these patients is the development of microsurgery, stereotactic radiotherapy, and targeted therapy and introduction of these techniques into clinical practice. Surgery is an effective treatment option in patients having single brain metastases and/or occuring in life-threatening clinical situations. Irradiation of the whole brain after surgical treatment is a necessary step in achieving satisfactory local control of intracranial metastatic foci, but the development of neurocognitive disorders and deterioration of life quality after this irradiation necessitate the search for alternative radiotherapy techniques in this clinical situation. Currently, an alternative to postoperative irradiation of the whole brain is stereotactic radiotherapy, which is used before or after surgical treatment. Stereotactic radiotherapy improves local control of intracranial metastatic foci and reduces the risk of neurotoxicity. In this review, we analyze the literature data on outcomes of stereotactic irradiation as a component of combined treatment of patients wit h metastatic brain lesions.