Progress on radiotherapy of primary central nervous system lymphoma / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare aggressive non-Hodgkin′s lymphoma that occurs in the brain, spinal cord, meninges or eyes. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma accounts for the vast majority, of which non-GCB subtype is more common. The median survival time of untreated patients is only 3 months. Surgical removal of the tumor alone has no obvious survival benefit. Early single use of whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) yields a high remission rate, but the duration is short, and delayed neurotoxicity is an important complication, especially for elderly patients. Subsequent studies found that high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy combined with WBRT significantly improved the prognosis of this disease. However, combination therapy increases the risk of neurotoxicity, and this strategy has been questioned. In recent years, reduced-dose WBRT and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation have gradually replaced the previous standard-dose WBRT. This article reviews the progress on the radiotherapy for PCNSL.

The impact of whole brain radiation therapy on overall survival in patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer with brain metastases / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To evaluate whether whole brain radiation therapy(WBRT) could benefit small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients with brain metastases.Methods:Clinical data of 245 patients who were diagnosed with extensive stage SCLC with brain metastases admitted to our hospital from 2010 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 168 patients received WRBT (WBRT group, radiation dose: 30Gy in 10 fractions), and 77 patients did not receive WBRT (non-WBRT group). All patients received 4-6 cycles of chemotherapy, and the chemotherapy regimen included cisplatin (or carboplatin) plus etoposide. One hundred and fifteen patients received thoracic radiotherapy. The endpoint was overall survival after brain metastases(BM-OS). Chi-square test was used to compare categorical data, and stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting(sIPTW) was used to match the factors between WBRT and no-WBRT groups. Survival analysis was estimated by Kaplan-Meier method, and the log-rank test was used to compare survival curves between two groups. Results:The median BM-OS for the whole group of patients was 9.1 months, and 10.6 months and 6.7 months in the WBRT and non-WBRT groups, respectively( P=0.003). After balanced influencing factors with stabilized sIPTW, significant difference still existed in BM-OS between two groups( P=0.02). In 118 patients with synchronous brain metastases, the median BM-OS in two groups were 13.0 months and 9.6 months( P=0.007); and in 127 patients with metachronous brain metastases, the median BM-OS were 8.0 months and 4.1 months( P=0.003). In 50 patients without extracranial metastases, the median BM-OS were 13.3 months and 10.9 months( P=0.259)in two groups; while in 195 patients with extracranial metastases, the median BM-OS were 9.5 months and 5.9 months( P=0.009)in two groups. Conclusions:WBRT could prolong the OS in extensive stage SCLC patients with brain metastases.

Clinical characteristics, management, and outcome of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia patients with brain metastasis: A 10-year experience at the Philippine General Hospital / Philippine Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Objective@#This study aimed to determine the clinical characteristics, management, and outcome of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients with brain metastasis.@*Materials and Methods@#This was a 10‑year descriptive study that included all patients with brain metastasis from GTN. Patients’ sociodemographic and clinicopathological profiles were described. Using Kaplan–Meier survival curve, the survival time was determined@*Results@#From January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2019, there were 33 GTN patients with brain metastasis. Four were excluded from the study due to incomplete records. Twenty‑nine patients were included in the study. Nineteen (65.51%) patients presented with neurologic symptoms upon diagnosis and one (3.44%) during treatment. All received etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin, oncovin (EMACO) as first‑line treatment. Five (17.24%) patients were given induction chemotherapy with low‑dose etoposide–cisplatin. Seventeen (58.62%) patients underwent whole‑brain radiation and two (6.89%) were given intrathecal methotrexate. Thirteen patients (44.82%) achieved biochemical remission with EMACO chemotherapy. Four patients (13.79%) had resistance to EMACO and were given Etoposide Cisplatin Etoposide Methotrexate Actinomycin (EP EMA). Four patients (13.79%) underwent an adjunctive hysterectomy. Four patients (13.79%) died during treatment. One patient (3.44%) was unable to continue her chemotherapy because she got pregnant before her first consolidation course. There were eight early deaths (<4 weeks of admission) and hence were excluded in the analysis. Three patients who went into biochemical remission relapsed on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd months after their last consolidation course, respectively. The median follow‑up time was 27 months. After excluding early deaths, the survival rate between 3 and 7 years after treatment is at 61.9%. The mean survival time was 5.43 years. Six surviving patients were contacted. Five (17.24%) of them had resumed their everyday life, and one is currently undergoing chemotherapy.@*Conclusion@#The study was able to document brain metastasis from GTN to be 14.28% (29/203) among metastatic high‑risk admissions. The biochemical remission rate from first‑line treatment was of 61.90% (13/21) and resistance rate was 19.04% (4/21). Lost to follow up after achieving biochemical remission was a challenge encountered

The role of whole brain radiation therapy in treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma: necessary or not / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a type of extranodal non-Hodgkin lymphoma.Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) combined with high-dose methotrexate is the standard treatment.Although PCNSL patients are sensitive to radiation therapy,the duration of response is relatively short and it is likely to provoke delayed neurotoxicity,especially in the elderly patients.Reduced-dose WBRT and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) can lower the risk of neutotoxicity,whereas the clinical efficacy remains to be validated.For the elderly patients with PCNSL,application of WBRT in the first-line treatment should be cautiously considered.

Effect of whole-brain radiotherapy and TKIs on suvival of patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer stratified by EGFR mutation status / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective: To compare overall survival (OS) and intracranial progression-free survival (iPFS) effects of whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in NSCLC patients with brain metastases (BM) stratified by EGFR mutation status (mutant, wild-type). Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 215 NSCLC BM patients diagnosed in January 2013 to January 2015 with known EGFR status and followed up to December 1, 2016. Stratified Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox models were used to evaluate the effects of WBRT (defined as≥30 Gy, "W") and TKIs (after BM, "T") on OS and iPFS independently and jointly. Two-sided P>0.20 was considered non-significant (ns). Results: In patients with BM, the mean age was 58 years, 52% were female, and 93% had adenocarcinoma. Those with EGFR mutations (114 patients) had "W" (35 patients) and "T" (87 patients) with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (P) of 1.135 (ns) and 0.202 (P<0.001) for OS, respectively, and 1.122 (ns) and 0.275 (P<0.001) for iPFS, respectively. "W+T" (22 patients), "T only" (65 patients), "W only"(13 patients), and "neither" (14 patients) had OS-median survival time (MST) of 14.1, 15.3, 7.1, and 4.3 months, respectively; their iPFS-MST were 14.1, 13.4, 6.8, and 4.5 months, respectively. Their adjusted HRs (P) were 0.196 (P=0.003), 0.114 (P<0.001), 0.434 (ns), 1.000 (ref) for OS, respectively, and 0.272 (P=0.012), 0.200 (P<0.001), 0.622 (ns), 1.000 (ref) for iPFS, respectively. Compared with "T only," "W+T" was not associated with better survival and "W only" had adjusted HRs (P) of 3.804 (P=0.025) for OS and 3.114 (P=0.032) for iPFS. The EGFR wild-type (101 patients) used "W" in 43 patients with OS-MST of 11.3 (7.1) and iPFS of 11.2 (4.8) months; the adjusted HRs (P) of "W"were 0.539 (P=0.105) for OS and 0.485 (P=0.048) for iPFS. Conclusions: In EGFR-mutant NSCLC BM patients, TKIs are associated with improved survival, whether, WBRT alone or combined are not. In cases of EGFR wild-type, WBRT confers the improved the iPFS.

Role of Recursive Partitioning Analysis and Graded Prognostic Assessment on Identifying Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases Who May Benefit from Postradiation Systemic Therapy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>Background</b>The role of postradiation systemic therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastasis (BM) was controversial. Thus, we explored the role of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group recursive partitioning analysis (RTOG-RPA) and graded prognostic assessment (GPA) in identifying population who may benefit from postradiation systemic therapy.</p><p><b>Methods</b>The clinical data of NSCLC patients with documented BM from August 2007 to April 2015 of two hospitals were studied retrospectively. Cox regression was used for multivariate analysis. Survival of patients with or without postradiation systemic therapy was compared in subgroups stratified according to RTOG-RPA or GPA.</p><p><b>Results</b>Of 216 included patients, 67.1% received stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), 24.1% received whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT), and 8.8% received both. After radiotherapy, systemic therapy was administered in 58.3% of patients. Multivariate analysis found that postradiation systemic therapy (yes vs. no) (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.361, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.202-0.648, P = 0.001), radiation technique (SRS vs. WBRT) (HR = 0.462, 95% CI = 0.238-0.849, P = 0.022), extracranial metastasis (yes vs. no) (HR = 3.970, 95% CI = 1.757-8.970, P = 0.001), and Karnofsky performance status (<70 vs. ≥70) (HR = 5.338, 95% CI = 2.829-10.072, P < 0.001) were independent factors for survival. Further analysis found that subsequent tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy could significantly reduce the risk of mortality of patients in RTOG-RPA Class II (HR = 0.411, 95% CI = 0.183-0.923, P = 0.031) or with a GPA score of 1.5-2.5 (HR = 0.420, 95% CI = 0.182-0.968, P = 0.042). However, none of the subgroups stratified according to RTOG-RPA or GPA benefited from the additional conventional chemotherapy.</p><p><b>Conclusion</b>RTOG-RPA and GPA may be useful to identify beneficial populations in NSCLC patients with BM if TKIs were chosen as postradiation systemic therapy.</p>

Whole-brain irradiation with simultaneous integrated boost by helical tomotherapy for multiple brain metastases:dosimetric and clinical analyses / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective To retrospectively analyze the dosimetry and efficacy of whole-brain irradiation (WBRT) with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) by helical tomotherapy (HT) in the treatment of multiple brain metastases (BMs),and to evaluate the feasibility,efficacy,and safety of HT.Methods From 2014 to 2017,a total of 43 patients with multiple BMs (no less than 3 lesions) were enrolled as subjects.A dose of 40 Gy was delivered to the whole brain in 20 fractions,while a dose of 60 Gy was delivered to the gross target volume (GTV) in 20 fractions.Patients were reexamined by magnetic resonance imaging during treatment.The radiation field would be shrunk if GTV was reduced.Target coverage (TC),conformity index (CI),prescription isodose/target volume (PITV) ratio,and homogeneity index (HI) were assessed.Clinical indices included local recurrence-free survival (LRFS),intracranial progression-free survival (IPFS),progression-free survival (PFS),overall survival (OS),and toxicities.Results The median lesion number was 6(3-36) and the median total volume of GTV was 8.74 cm3.The TC,CI,PITV,and HI for GTV were 0.96±0.028,0.51±0.164,2.09±1.245,and 0.12±0.066,respectively,while the TC and HI for the whole brain were 0.95±0.033 and 0.43±0.161,respectively.In all the patients,26％ had replarming during treatment.The two-stage treatment reduced the radiation dose to organs at risk.The 1-year LRFS,IPFS,PFS,and OS rates were 96％,80％,39％,and 86％,respectively.No grade ≥3 toxicities were observed.Conclusions WBRT with SIB by HT achieves satisfactory conformity,homogeneity,efficacy,and safety,which is a recommended treatment plan for multiple BMs.Replanning during treatment can better protect normal tissue.

Progress in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer with brain metastases / 中国肿瘤临床

Lung cancer is a malignant tumor,leading to the highest morbidity and mortality worldwide.Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)accounts for approximately 80% of all lung cancer types.Out of all the patients with advanced NSCLC,more than 40% develop brain metastasis,and lung cancer associated with brain metastasis indicates poor prognosis.Traditional treatment options,such as ra-diotherapy,chemotherapy and surgery,have an extremely limited role in improvement of prognosis of such patients.In recent years, with the development of stereotactic radiotherapy and targeted therapy,particularly chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy, radiotherapy combined with targeted therapy and other types of therapies,NSCLC patients with brain metastases could benefit from these therapies with an improved quality of life and prolonged median overall survival. However, the ideal treatment regimen for NSCLC patients with brain metastases remains controversial.Recent advances in NSCLC with brain metastases will be described elabo-rately in this paper,to provide a theoretical basis for selecting a reasonable treatment plan for non-small lung cancer patients with brain metastasis.

Non small cell lung cancer patients with multiple brain metastases with erlotinib combined with whole brain radiation therapy clinical observation and effect of C on vascular endothelial growth factor level / 中国生化药物杂志

Objective To study the analysis of non-small cell lung cancer patients with multiple brain metastases with erlotinib combined with whole brain radiation therapy clinical observation and effect of C on vascular endothelial growth factor level. Methods 40 cases of non - small cell lung cancer patients with multiple brain metastases treated in Taizhou tumor hospital from January 2015 to April 2016 were selected and randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group, with 20 patients in each group. The control group and the experimental group patients were given clinical treatment of whole brain radiotherapy, the control group was given routine treatment, the experimental group received erlotinib. The clinical effects of the 2 groups were compared and analyzed. Results After the corresponding treatment, the experimental group of 20 patients, 8 cases of complete remission, 7 cases of partial remission, the number of effective treatment for 15 cases, the treatment rate was 75.0％. Of the patients in the control group, 6patients had complete remission, and 4 patients had partial remission. The effective rate was 50％. Available, the effective rate of the treatment group (75.0％) was significantly higher than that of the control group (50.0％), with statistical difference (P<0.05). The survival rate of the experimental group after one year (80.0％) was significantly higher than that of the control group (60.0％), with statistical difference (P<0.05). The level of vascular endothelial growth factor (C) in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Non small cell lung cancer patients with multiple brain metastases with erlotinib combined with radiotherapy in the clinical treatment effect of whole brain is better, can improve the survival rate in a large extent, improve the endothelial growth factor C levels, with the further promotion of the clinical significance.

Effect of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin on Growth Associated Protein-43 through Extracellular Signal Regulated Kinase 1/2 Pathway in Rats with Brain Radiation Injury / 中国康复理论与实践

@#Objective To observe the effect of grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) on growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43) through extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) pathway in rats with brain radiation injury. Methods 72 3-month male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control group (n=18), model group (n=18), high dose GSPE group (n=18) and low dose GSPE group (n=18). The brain radiation injury models were established by linear accelerator irradiation with 22 Gy. The learning ability was assessed with shuttle box. The morphological changes of neurons in hippocampus were observed with HE staining;the expression of GAP-43 was de-tected by RT-PCR; and the expression of phosphorylated ERK1/2 was detected by Western blotting. Results Compared with the model group, the active avoidance reaction rate in the shuttle box test increased and the passive avoidance latency shortened in GSPE groups (P<0.001); the nerve cell morphological injury reduced and the expression of GAP-43 mRNA and phosphorylated ERK1/2 increased in the GSPE groups (P<0.001), especially in the high dose GSPE group (P<0.001). The GAP-43 mRNA level positively correlated with phosphory-lated ERK1/2 level in the model group (r=0.764, P<0.001), the low dose GSPE group (r=0.814, P<0.001) and the high dose GSPE group (r=0.822, P<0.001). Conclusion GSPE could promote the expression of GAP-43 through ERK1/2 pathway in rats, and prevent the brain from radiation injury.

Advances in treatment of radiation of non-small-cell lung cancer in the 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer / 肿瘤研究与临床

The 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) received about 210 abstracts on radiotherapy.These abstracts covered many realms,including the efficacy,safety,evaluation methods and dose fractionation study of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) on early stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); control studies of high and standard radiation dose,different chemotherapy regimens and whether combined cetuximab in concurrent radiochemotherapy on locally advanced NSCLC clinical significance of postoperative 3D-conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) for patients with p Ⅲ A-N2 NSCLC after complete resection; the efficacy and safety of TKIs in combination with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in NSCLC patients with multiple brain metastases,as well as the influence of EGFR mutation status on the curative effect.Besides,there are many reports about radiotherapy protection,toxicity,efficacy,prognosis and life quality assessment.

Effect of chronic forced swimming stress on whole brain radiation induced cognitive dysfunction and related mechanism / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective To explore whether chronic forced swimming stress could improve whole brain radiation induced cognitive dysfunction and possible mechanism. Methods Thirty-nine one month old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into sham control group ( C ) , swimming group ( C-S ) , radiation group( R) , and radiation plus swimming group( R-S) . Radiation groups were given a single dose of 20 Gy on whole-brain. Rats in the swimming groups were trained with swimming of 15 min/d, 5 d/w. Rat behavior was performed 3 months after radiation in an order of free activity in an open field and the Morris water maze test including the place navigation and spatial probe tests. Then, the protein expressions of BDNF, P-ERK, T-ERK, P-CREB and T-CREB in the rat hippocampus tissue were assayed by Western blot. Results On the day 2, in the place navigation test of Morris water maze, the latency of swimming group was significantly shorter than that of sham group, the latency of sham group was significantly shorter than that of radiation group, and the latency of radiation swimming group was significantly shorter than that of radiation group(P0?05). Western blot assay showed that the expressions of BDNF and its downstream signals including P-ERK and P-CREB were markedly reduced by radiation ( P < 0?05 ) , but this reduction was attenuated by the chronic forced swimming stress. Conclusion The chronic forced swimming stress could improve whole brain radiation induced cognitive dysfunction by up-regulating the expressions of BDNF and its downstream signal molecules of P-ERK and P-CREB in hippocampus.

Effect of bFGF gene transfection on expression of astrocytes associated protein in rats with radiation induced brain impairment / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To observe the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) gene therapy on astrocytes glial fibrillary acidic protein (glial fibrillary acidic protein,GFAP) and vimentin (Vimentin,VIM) protein expression of astrocytes in rats with whole brain radiation brain injury (RIB) in order to provide an experimental basis for exploring new ways to treat RIB.Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were grouped and received single 25Gy for whole brain irradiation to established brain radiation injury (radiation injuries of the brain,RIB) model,bFGF gene therapy groups were given intracerebroventricular injection of bFGF-pcDNA3.1 (±) plasmid and set non-irradiated group as control.Before irradiation and post-irradiation 20 d and 60 d,respectively,GFAP and VIM expression were observed in each group of brain tissue.Results Radiation group with pathological examination showed mild degeneration of hippocampal and cortical neurons,and white matter regions presented the organizational structure comb loose and perivascular space enlargement compared with the control group.But the bFGF treatment group was significantly lighter.The expression of GFAP were increased in each group after radiation.GFAP positive cells of bFGF treatment group (65 ±6.2) were higher than that of irradiation group (49 ±5.8) and control group (18 ± 2.4) (P ＜ 0.05) at 20 d.GFAP positive cells at 60 d in bFGF treatment group (44 ± 5.1) were significantly reduced (P ＜ 0.05) than at 20 d and there were no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05) in the other groups between 20 d and 60 d.VIM expression of bFGF treatment group was higher at 20 d (0.94 ±0.12) compared to irradiated group (1.45 ± 0.26) and no significant difference of VIM expression was found in each groups at 60 d.Conclusion Irradiation with 25Gy-ray can increase the expression of GFAP and VIM in rats brain at acute phase,bFGF gene therapy can increase the expression of GFAP and decrease the expression of VIM.

Multiple Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Multiple Metachronous Brain Metastases Associated with Lung Cancer : Survival Time

OBJECTIVE: We compared the survival time between patients with multiple gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) and patients with a single GKRS plus whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT), in patients with multiple metachronous brain metastases from lung cancer. METHODS: From May 2006 to July 2010, we analyzed 31 patients out of 112 patients who showed multiple metachronous brain metastases. 20 out of 31 patients underwent multiple GKRS (group A) and 11 patients underwent a single GKRS plus WBRT (group B). We compared the survival time between group A and B. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards were used to analyze relationship between survival and 1) the number of lesions in each patient, 2) the average volume of lesions in each patient, 3) the number of repeated GKRS, and 4) the interval of development of new lesions, respectively. RESULTS: Median survival time was 18 months (range 6-50 months) in group A and 6 months (range 3-18 months) in group B. Only the average volume of individual lesion (over 10 cc) was negatively related with survival time according to Kaplan-Meier method. Cox-proportional hazard ratio of each variable was 1.1559 for the number of lesions, 1.0005 for the average volume of lesions, 0.0894 for the numbers of repeated GKRS, and 0.5970 for the interval of development of new lesions. CONCLUSION: This study showed extended survival time in group A compared with group B. Our result supports that multiple GKRS is of value in extending the survival time in patients with multiple metachronous brain metastases, and that the number of the lesions and the frequency of development of new lesions are not an obstacle in treating patients with GKRS.

Incidence and Risk Factors for Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis in Breast Cancer Patients with Parenchymal Brain Metastases

OBJECTIVE: The objective of study is to evaluate the incidence of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) in breast cancer patients with parenchymal brain metastases (PBM) and clinical risk factors for the development of LMC. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients who had undergone surgical resection (SR) and 156 patients with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) as an initial treatment for their PBM from breast cancer in our institution and compared the difference of incidence of LMC according to clinical factors. The diagnosis of LMC was made by cerebrospinal fluid cytology and/or magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: A total of 27 patients (14%) in the study population developed LMC at a median of 6.0 months (range, 1.0-50). Ten of 27 patients (37%) developed LMC after SR, whereas 17 of 156 (11%) patients who received WBRT were diagnosed with LMC after the index procedure. The incidence of LMC was significantly higher in the SR group compared with the WBRT group and the hazard ratio was 2.95 (95% confidence interval; 1.33-6.54, p<0.01). Three additional factors were identified in the multivariable analysis : the younger age group (<40 years old), the progressing systemic disease showed significantly increased incidence of LMC, whereas the adjuvant chemotherapy reduce the incidence. CONCLUSION: There is an increased risk of LMC after SR for PBM from breast cancer compared with WBRT. The young age (<40) and systemic burden of cancer in terms of progressing systemic disease without adjuvant chemotherapy could be additional risk factors for the development of LMC.

Complications of post-operative seizure prophylaxis in patients submitted to cranial irradiation

The clinical status of patients with malignant intracranial tumors, such as high-grade gliomas, is often aggravated by seizure activity. Phenytoin is typically employed as prophylactic anticonvulsant in this setting. In such patients, severe systemic drug reactions such as erythema multiforme (EM) may occur. However, in a subgroup of patients with brain radiation therapy, EM-like lesions appear to develop in an increased ratio. The acronym ‘EMPACT’ (E: erythema; M: multiform; associated with P: phenytoin; A: and; C: cranial, radiation; T: therapy) has been suggested to best describes this syndrome. In this article, the authors present a case report of a patient treated with phenytoin for seizure prophylaxis, during the post-operative period following resection of a malignant glioma, and who presented a severe cutaneous rash, evolving with serious consequences due to abrupt change of seizure medications. Because of these predictable complications we abandoned our routine institutional protocol which employed phenytoin for seizure prophylaxis for patients in the post-operative period following malignant tumor resection and which expect to be irradiated in the near future. Once both carbamazepine and barbiturates show cross-sensitivity with phenytoin and may interfere with serum levels of chemotherapy drugs, we now advocate, as other worldwide renown neuro-oncological centers, the use of valproate gabapentin, or alternatively, as recent literature guidelines suggests levetiracetam (keppra), for seizure prophylaxis in this select subset of patients.

El estado clínico de los pacientes con tumores malignos intracraneales, como los gliomas de alto grado, es a menudo agravado por la actividad convulsiva. La fenitoína es normalmente empleadaa como anticonvulsivante profiláctico en esto contexto. En estos pacientes, graves reacciones sistémicas, como eritema multiforme (EM) puedem ocurrir. Sin embargo, en un subgrupo de pacientes con terapia de radiación en el cerebro, lesiones de EM, parece que se desarrollan en una proporción mayor. ‘EMPACT’ La sigla (E: eritema, M: multiforme; asociados con P: fenitoína; A: y C: la radiación craneal, T: La terapia) Se ha sugerido que mejor describe este síndrome. En esto artículo, los autores presentan un caso clínico de un paciente tratado con fenitoína para la profilaxia de convulsiones, durante el período post-operatorio después de la resección de un glioma maligno, y que presenta una erupción cutánea grave, que evoluciona con consecuencias graves debido al cambio brusco de medicamentos anticonvulsivos. Debido a estas complicaciones predecibles, que abandonamos nuestro protocolo institucional de rutina que la fenitoína empleadas para la profilaxia de convulsiones en los pacientes en el período post-operatorio después de la resección del tumor maligno y que esperan ser irradiado en un futuro próximo. Una vez que ambos carbamazepina y los barbitúricos mostran sensibilidad cruzada con fenitoína y puede interferir con los niveles séricos de drogas de la quimioterapia, ahora defendemos, como otros centros de renombre mundial neuro-oncológico, el uso de gabapentina valproato, o bien, como orientación la literatura reciente sugiere levetiracetam (keppra), para la profilaxia de las convulsiones en este subgrupo seleccionado de pacientes.

Clinical Features and Prognosis of Lung Cancer with Brain Metastasis / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: Brain metastasis is estimated to occur in 20~40% of solid tumor patients and the most common primary tumor is lung cancer. Even though the prognosis of brain metastasis is grave and the 1-year survival rate is only 15%, symptom palliations are made with whole brain radiation therapy. We retrospectively evaluated the clinical features and prognostic factors of lung cancer with brain metastasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 1987 to October 1999, 50 lung cancer patients with brain metastasis underwent whole brain radiation therapy. We reviewed the improvement in neurologic symptoms and survival according to the following parameters; performance status, histological type, presence of brain metastasis at the initial diagnosis of lung cancer, presence of extracranial metastasis, multiplicity of brain lesion, presence of primary lung symptom and treatment modalities. RESULTS: The most frequent symptom with brain metastasis was a headache (50%). Palliation of the headache and other symptoms was achieved in 81% of the patients. Median overall survival after brain metastasis was 21 weeks and the 1 year survival rate was 15%. Patients without extracranial metastasis had a longer median survival than those with, 38 weeks versus 15 weeks, respectively (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: In lung cancer with brain metastasis, neurologic symptoms can be palliated with whole brain radiation therapy, and in this study among such patients, absence of extracranial metastasis can be a good prognostic factor.

A Case of Complete Remission of Choriocarcinoma with Brain Metastases Treated with Multicycle High-dose MTX/EMA-CO, Intrathecal MTX and Whole Brain RT / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Patients of choriocarcinoma with brain metastases are considered to have a very poor prognosis due to chemo-refractoriness and recurrence. So, selection and individualization of patients then followed by multimodality therapy are very important. We present a case of a patient who experienced twice of craniotomies due to intracranial hemorrhage and an emergent explorative laparotomy due to intestinal perforation of the metastatic sites of choriocarcinoma. She was treated with 12 cycles of high-dose MTX/EMA-CO, intrathecal MTX and WBRT. Eventually she has obtained a complete remission that ongoing for 2 years. So, we report this case with a brief review of the literatures.