Gamma knife radiosurgery in the management of non-solitary brain metastases: A retrospective analysis of survival

Abstract

OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery (GKRS) in patients with two or more brain metastases. METHODS A retrospective analysis of 40 patients treated between 2002 and 2013 in one of the largest medical centers of India was performed. Patients were categorized into three categories according to RPA classification. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients, including age and gender, were extracted from case records. RESULTS The most common location was the frontal lobe. Breast cancer was the commonest source of metastases. The median survival of patients treated with GKRS for non-solitary brain metastases was four months. The median survival of RPA III category patients was three months, whereas it was four months in both the RPA category II and RPA category I patients. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that GKRS is a safe and effective option of palliative treatment in patients with non-solitary brain metastases. The neurocognitive morbidity associated with whole brain radiotherapy is negligible with Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS).