Efficacy and safety of simultaneous modulated accelerated radiation therapy for brain metastases / 中国辐射卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of simultaneous enhanced accelerated radiation therapy for brain metastases (SMART-Brain) combined with functional area protection. Methods SMART-Brain was planned for 60 patients with multiple brain metastases. Using the whole brain intensity modulation technique, important functional areas such as hippocampus were protected against irradiation by delivering a dose of 30 Gy in 10 fractions. Meanwhile, a high dose of 40 Gy was delivered to brain metastases in 10 fractions. All patients were followed up to evaluate the efficacy, incidence of adverse reactions, median overall survival (OS), and intracranial progression-free survival (IPFS). Results The effective rate was 73.33% (44 cases), the disease control rate was 91.67% (55 cases), median OS was 15.2 months, and IPFS was 12 months. The 1 and 2-year OS was 66.7% and 26.4%, and the 1-year IPFS was 46.7%. The MMSE scores at 1, 3, and 6 months after SMART showed no significant differences compared with baseline scores (P > 0.05). Grade 2 and above inner ear damage such as otitis media, hearing loss, and dizziness was absent. Conclusion Smart-Brain can significantly reduce the treatment time and better protect the organs at risk, and serves as an economical, safe, and effective radiotherapy regimen in areas with limited technical conditions.