Metastatic cancer to the central nervous system

Abstract

Brain metastases are the most common intracranial solid tumors identified in adults, with 150,000 to 170,000 newly diagnosed cases of brain metastases per year in the United States. Ten percent to 30% of adult cancer patients develop brain metastases in their lifetime with an incidence of up to 25% to 40% at time of autopsy. The mean age of patients diagnosed with brain metastases is 60 years.4 Brain metastases are much less frequent in children, affecting approximately 3% of children with localized solid tumors and 7% of those with known metastatic disease. The most common primary tumor giving rise to brain metastases is non-small cell lung cancer, followed by small cell lung cancer and breast cancer (Figure 92.1). The median time from diagnosis of the primary tumor to development of brain metastases is approximately 8 months. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.