The management of brain metastases in patients with non-small cell lung cancer-is it time to go back to the drawing board?

Congress of Neurological Surgeons Systematic Review and Evidence-Based Guidelines on the Role of Steroids in the Treatment of Adults With Metastatic Brain Tumors

QUESTION

Do steroids improve neurological symptoms and/or quality of life in patients with metastatic brain tumors compared to supportive care only or other treatment options? If steroids are given, what dose should be used?

TARGET POPULATION

These recommendations apply to adults diagnosed with brain metastases.

RECOMMENDATIONS

STEROID THERAPY VERSUS NO STEROID THERAPYAsymptomatic brain metastases patients without mass effectInsufficient evidence exists to make a treatment recommendation for this clinical scenario.Brain metastases patients with mild symptoms related to mass effect Level 3: Corticosteroids are recommended to provide temporary symptomatic relief of symptoms related to increased intracranial pressure and edema secondary to brain metastases. It is recommended for patients who are symptomatic from metastatic disease to the brain that a starting dose of 4 to 8 mg/d of dexamethasone be considered.Brain metastases patients with moderate to severe symptoms related to mass effect Level 3: Corticosteroids are recommended to provide temporary symptomatic relief of symptoms related to increased intracranial pressure and edema secondary to brain metastases. If patients exhibit severe symptoms consistent with increased intracranial pressure, it is recommended that higher doses such as 16 mg/d or more be considered.

CHOICE OF STEROID

Level 3: If corticosteroids are given, dexamethasone is the best drug choice given the available evidence.Duration of Corticosteroid Administration Level 3: Corticosteroids, if given, should be tapered as rapidly as possible but no faster than clinically tolerated, based upon an individualized treatment regimen and a full understanding of the long-term sequelae of corticosteroid therapy.Given the very limited number of studies (2) which met the eligibility criteria for the systematic review, these are the only recommendations that can be offered based on this methodology.The full guideline can be found at https://www.cns.org/guidelines/guidelines-treatment-adults-metastatic-brain-tumors/chapter_7.

Comparing the efficacy of concurrent EGFR-TKI and whole-brain radiotherapy vs EGFR-TKI alone as a first-line therapy for advanced EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer with brain metastases: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a global public health problem, and brain is a common metastatic site in advanced NSCLC. Currently, whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) remains a major treatment for brain metastases, while EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is the standard treatment for advanced NSCLC harboring EGFR mutations, which is also effective for brain metastases. However, whether EGFR-TKIs plus radiotherapy is superior to EGFR-TKIs alone for the treatment of advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLS with brain metastases remains controversial. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of concurrent EGFR-TKIs and WBRT vs EGFR-TKI alone in a retrospective cohort of advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLS with brain metastases.

Patients and methods

The medical records of 104 treatment-naïve, advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients with brain metastases were retrospectively reviewed, and there were 56 patients undergoing concurrent EGFR-TKI and WBRT, and 48 patients given EGFR-TKI alone, including 20 cases with salvage WBRT upon brain metastasis progression. The survival prognosis was compared between the two cohorts.

Results

The baseline clinicopathologic factors were balanced between the two cohorts. After a median follow-up of 23 months, 35.6% of the study subjects survived. Concurrent EGFR-TKI and WBRT significantly improved the median intracranial PFS (iPFS) compared with EGFR-TKI alone (17.7 vs 11.0 months, P=0.015); however, no significant difference was seen in median overall survival between the two cohorts (28.1 vs 24.0 months, P=0.756). In addition, the median iPFS was found to significantly vary in the number of brain metastases (≤3 vs>3 metastases: 18.0 vs 12.5 months, P=0.044). Subgroup analysis showed that concurrent EGFR-TKI and WBRT improved median iPFS compared with EGFR-TKI alone in patients with more than three brain metastases (P=0.001); however, no significant difference was observed between the two regimens in patients with three or less brain metastases (P=0.526).

Conclusion

Our data demonstrate that concurrent EGFR-TKI and WBRT achieves longer iPFS than EGFR-TKI alone in advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC with brain metastases. In advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC with three or less brain metastases, EGFR-TKI alone may be an option as a first-line therapy.

Applying the QUARTZ Trial Results in Clinical Practice: Development of a Prognostic Model Predicting Poor Outcomes for Non-small Cell Lung Cancers with Brain Metastases

AIMS

The role of whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) has been questioned. However, no reliable criteria exist to identify patients who do not benefit from WBRT. The objective of the current study was to develop a prognostic model to identify such patients whose survival matches that of the Quality of Life after Treatment for Brain Metastases (QUARTZ) study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Outcome data of patients with NSCLC with brain metastases undergoing WBRT enrolled in a prospective observational study in a tertiary cancer centre were used to develop a prognostic model. Baseline clinico-radiological factors were used for development of the model. The model was internally validated and calibration accuracy was checked for prediction of 70 day mortality. The generated prognostic model was presented as a nomogram.

RESULTS

The median overall survival of 140 patients enrolled in the study was 166 days (95% confidence interval 108-242 days). The prognostic model identified gender, Karnofsky performance status and epidermal growth factor receptor activating mutation status as significant factors influencing overall survival. The model showed a modest discriminative ability with an optimism-corrected C-index of 0.64. However, model calibration error did reveal a moderate degree of calibration error. The high-risk subgroup identified by the model had a median overall survival of 67 days (95% confidence interval 56-101 days), which was similar to that observed in the QUARTZ trial.

CONCLUSION

This prognostic model derived from traditional clinico-radiological features had a modest ability to identify patients with poor prognosis who may not benefit from WBRT. However, the high-risk subgroup identified using this prognostic model had a survival similar to that observed for patients in the QUARTZ trial.

Targeted sequencing reveals distinct pathogenic variants in Chinese patients with lung adenocarcinoma brain metastases

Lung cancer is the most common type of malignancy to metastasize to the brain, with the median survival time of patients being 6-11 months. In the present study, the aim was to compare the actionable gene mutation profiles of primary lung adenocarcinoma (LC) samples and LC brain metastasis (LCBM) samples through targeted sequencing. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of 13 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded LC samples and 15 LCBM samples was performed using a customized OncoAim™ cancer panel and OncoAim™ RNA fusion panel on the MiSeq platform. The OncoAim™ cancer panel pipeline and OncoAim™ RNA fusion panel pipeline were used for bioinformatic analysis. Together, 43 variants were observed in 7 genes from the 28 cancer samples. The mutated genes of LCBM were tumor protein (TP)53, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), catenin β1, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit α, mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4, Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) and proto-oncogene B-Raf, which were exhibited in 10/15 (66.7%), 6/15 (40.0%), 3/15 (20.0%), 2/15 (13.3%), 2/15 (13.3%), 1/15 (6.7%) and 1/15 (6.7%) of samples, respectively. The mutated genes of LC were TP53, EGFR and KRAS, which were exhibited in 11/13 (84.6%), 5/13 (38.5%) and 2/13 (18.2%) of samples, respectively. echinoderm microtubule associated protein like 4-anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangements were present in 1 LCBM sample. For 2 LC samples and 1 LCBM sample, no genetic alterations were observed. The NGS data also revealed a novel 4-codon deletion of TP53 (p.V166_H169del) and a novel TP53 splice site mutation (7577157-63del TACTCAG). Further potentially actionable mutations were detected in LCBM, indicating a high degree of genetic heterogeneity between the LC and LCBM samples that were analyzed. The present study demonstrated that NGS provides an improved approach for the discovery of potentially actionable mutations and the understanding of the mechanisms underlying tumor progression and evolution.

Examination of the predictive factors of the response to whole brain radiotherapy for brain metastases from lung cancer using MRI

Previous studies have been conducted on the prognostic factors for overall survival in patients with brain metastases (BMs) following whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT). However, there have been a small number of studies regarding the prognostic factors for the response of tumor to WBRT. The aim of the present study was to identify the predictive factors for the response to WBRT from the point of view of reduction of tumor using magnetic resonance imaging. A retrospective analysis of 62 patients with BMs from primary lung cancer treated with WBRT was undertaken. The effects of the following factors on the response to WBRT were evaluated: Age; sex; performance status; lactate dehydrogenase; pathology; existence of extracranial metastases; activity of extracranial disease; chemo-history; chest radiotherapy history; treatment term; γ-knife radiotherapy; diffusion weighted image signal intensity; tumor diameter; extent of edema and the edema/tumor (E/T) ratio. The association between the reduction of tumors and clinical factors was evaluated using logistic regression analysis. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. The overall response ratio of this cohort was 54.8%. In the univariate analysis, the response of tumors was associated with the presence of small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC; P=0.0007), an E/T ratio of ≥1.5 (P=0.048), and a median tumor diameter of <20 mm (P=0.014). In the multivariate analysis, the presence of SCLC [P=0.001; odds ratio (OR), 17.152), an E/T ratio of ≥1.5 (P=0.019; OR, 9.526), and the presence of extracranial metastases (P=0.031; OR, 4.875) were revealed to be independent predictive factors for the reduction of tumor. The following 3 factors were significantly associated with the response of tumors to WBRT: The presence of SCLC; an E/T ratio of ≥1.5; and the presence of extracranial metastases. The E/T ratio is a novel index that provides a simple and easy predictive method for use in a clinical setting.

Brain metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma: recent advances and future avenues

The incidence of brain metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (BMHCC) is becoming more frequent than that of the past as a result of prolonged survival of patients with HCC. Compared with brain metastases from other types of cancer, BMHCC tends to exhibit a high incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and poor liver function. Unfortunately, the prognosis is extremely poor for patients with BMHCC owing to the limited treatment selection. Currently, optimal treatment requires multidisciplinary approaches including surgery, whole-brain radiation therapy and stereotactic radiosurgery. Besides these traditional approaches, novel treatments such as target therapy and immunotherapy provide an opportunity to improve the survival of these patients. This review provides an overview of the incidence, characteristics, prognosis, and current and potential future management strategies for BMHCC.

Dexamethasone and supportive care with or without whole brain radiotherapy in treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer with brain metastases unsuitable for resection or stereotactic radiotherapy (QUARTZ): results from a phase 3, non-inferiority, randomised trial

BACKGROUND

Whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and dexamethasone are widely used to treat brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although there have been no randomised clinical trials showing that WBRT improves either quality of life or overall survival. Even after treatment with WBRT, the prognosis of this patient group is poor. We aimed to establish whether WBRT could be omitted without a significant effect on survival or quality of life.

METHODS

The Quality of Life after Treatment for Brain Metastases (QUARTZ) study is a non-inferiority, phase 3 randomised trial done at 69 UK and three Australian centres. NSCLC patients with brain metastases unsuitable for surgical resection or stereotactic radiotherapy were randomly assigned (1:1) to optimal supportive care (OSC) including dexamethasone plus WBRT (20 Gy in five daily fractions) or OSC alone (including dexamethasone). The dose of dexamethasone was determined by the patients' symptoms and titrated downwards if symptoms improved. Allocation to treatment group was done by a phone call from the hospital to the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London using a minimisation programme with a random element and stratification by centre, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), gender, status of brain metastases, and the status of primary lung cancer. The primary outcome measure was quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). QALYs were generated from overall survival and patients' weekly completion of the EQ-5D questionnaire. Treatment with OSC alone was considered non-inferior if it was no more than 7 QALY days worse than treatment with WBRT plus OSC, which required 534 patients (80% power, 5% [one-sided] significance level). Analysis was done by intention to treat for all randomly assigned patients. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN3826061.

FINDINGS

Between March 2, 2007, and Aug 29, 2014, 538 patients were recruited from 69 UK and three Australian centres, and were randomly assigned to receive either OSC plus WBRT (269) or OSC alone (269). Baseline characteristics were balanced between groups, and the median age of participants was 66 years (range 38-85). Significantly more episodes of drowsiness, hair loss, nausea, and dry or itchy scalp were reported while patients were receiving WBRT, although there was no evidence of a difference in the rate of serious adverse events between the two groups. There was no evidence of a difference in overall survival (hazard ratio 1·06, 95% CI 0·90-1·26), overall quality of life, or dexamethasone use between the two groups. The difference between the mean QALYs was 4·7 days (46·4 QALY days for the OSC plus WBRT group vs 41·7 QALY days for the OSC group), with two-sided 90% CI of -12·7 to 3·3.

INTERPRETATION

Although the primary outcome measure result includes the prespecified non-inferiority margin, the combination of the small difference in QALYs and the absence of a difference in survival and quality of life between the two groups suggests that WBRT provides little additional clinically significant benefit for this patient group.

FUNDING

Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, and the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia.

Palliative whole-brain radiotherapy and health- related quality of life for patients with brain metastasis in cancer

OBJECTIVE

To assess the use of palliative whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in the treatment of brain metastases (BMs) and to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of these patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study of 46 patients with BMs who were treated with WBRT at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University between January 2013 and January 2015. External beam radiotherapy techniques were used to deliver 40 Gy in 20 fractions or 30 Gy in ten fractions with a 10 MV photon beam from a linear accelerator to the whole brain. Data were stored and analyzed using SPSS version 17.0.

RESULTS

Of the 46 patients, the survival time of patients in our study was 10.8±0.55 months: 11.8±0.46 months in patients with WBRT, 11.75±1.00 in patients with WBRT + chemotherapy, and 3±0.79 months in patients with supportive care, respectively (P<0.01). The HRQOL scores of all the patients were 70±1.16 (before therapy) and 76.83±1.04 (after therapy) (P<0.01). The HRQOL scores of the patients with WBRT were 72.23±0.88 (before therapy) and 78.49±0.87 (after therapy) (P<0.01). There was no central nervous system toxicity; only two (4.3%) patients were found to have BM hemorrhage. Radiation necrosis happened in one patient (2.2%).

CONCLUSION

Effective treatment options for patients with BMs are important. WBRT was evaluated to ensure survival outcomes and QOL were enhanced after therapy for patients with BMs.

Brain metastases in non-small-cell lung cancer

Up to 50% of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer will develop brain metastases at some point during their illness. These metastases cause a substantial burden in morbidity and mortality, which has motivated research and technological innovation over the past 2 decades. Surgery, radiotherapy, and systemic therapies have each played a role in management, with the greatest changes associated with the popularization of stereotactic radiosurgery. In this review, the evidence behind each modality used in the management of brain metastases for non-small-cell lung cancer patients is examined, and recommendations regarding the current standards of care and areas of future research focus are provided.

S100B protein as a possible participant in the brain metastasis of NSCLC

Brain metastasis is a frequent occurrence in lung cancer, especially non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the prognosis for NSCLC with brain metastasis is very poor. Our previous study found high S100B expression in the brain-specific metastatic NSCLC line PC14/B, suggested S100B is closely correlated with brain metastasis in NSCLC. However, the details have not yet been revealed. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between S100B and brain metastasis in NSCLC and to study the effects of S100B on non-brain metastatic NSCLC line PC14. We investigated serum S100B levels in 30 newly diagnosed NSCLC patients (15 with brain metastasis and 15 without brain metastasis) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results showed that serum S100B levels were significant higher in NSCLC patients with brain metastasis compared to those without brain metastasis (P<0.01). We constructed the full-length S100B expression vector and transfected into PC14 cells. MTT and flow cytometric analysis showed that S100B transfection promoted cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis (P<0.05). Transwell migration and invasion assays indicated that S100B transfection promoted cell invasion and cell migration compared to control cells transfected with empty vector alone (P<0.01). These results suggested that S100B could be involved in the development of brain metastasis in NSCLC.

Pulsed reduced dose-rate radiotherapy as re-irradiation for brain metastasis in a patient with lung squamous-celled carcinoma

The recurrence and progression of brain metastases after brain irradiation are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with cancer. The risk of radiation-induced neurotoxicity and efficacy probably leads oncologists to not consider re-irradiation. We report the case of a 48-year-old Asian male diagnosed with squamous cell lung cancer and multiple brain metastases initially treated with 40 Gy whole-brain radiotherapy and 20 Gy partial brain boost. Fourteen gray stereotactic radiosurgery as salvage for brain metastases in the left occipital lobe was performed after initial irradiation. The recurrence of brain metastases in the left occipital lobe was demonstrated on magnetic resonance imaging at 9 months after initial radiotherapy. He received the second course of 28 Gy stereotactic radiosurgery for the recurrent brain metastases in the left occipital lobe. The third relapse of brain metastases was demonstrated by a magnetic resonance imaging scan at 7 months after the second radiotherapy. The third course of irradiation was performed because he refused to undergo surgical resection of the recurrent brain metastases. The third course of irradiation used a pulsed reduced dose-rate radiotherapy technique. It was delivered in a series of 0.2 Gy pulses separated by 3-min intervals. The recurrent brain metastases were treated with a dose of 60 Gy using 30 daily fractions of 2 Gy. Despite the brain metastases receiving 162 Gy irradiation, this patient had no apparent acute or late neurologic toxicities and showed clinical improvement. This is the first report of the pulsed reduced dose-rate radiotherapy technique being used as the third course of radiotherapy for recurrent brain metastases.

Serum levels of selenium in patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer before and after radiotherapy

PURPOSE

This study was to evaluate the influence of radiotherapy on the selenium serum levels of non-small cell cancer patients with brain metastases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This prospective study included 95 non-small cell cancer patients with brain metastases treated by radiotherapy from December 2007 until November 2010. Plasma selenium levels were determined before and at the end of the radiotherapy. Age, body mass index (BMI), prior chemotherapy, pathological type and personal habits (smoking and alcoholism) were recorded for each patient.

RESULTS

The mean age was 63 years; the mean BMI was 27.6. Seventy-six patients (80%) were non-smokers. Sixty-two patients (65.3%) showed no drinking habits and 8 (8.4%) have no prior chemotherapy. Thirty-nine patients (41.1%) were adenocarcinoma, 51 (53.7%) were squamous cell carcinoma and five (5.3%) were large cell carcinoma. At the beginning of radiotherapy, the mean selenium level for all patients was 90.4 μg/l and after radiation this value dropped to 56.3 μg/l. Multivariate analysis showed statistically significant difference in the plasma selenium concentration before and after radiotherapy for age (P<0.001), BMI (P<0.001), smoking (P<0.001), alcoholism (P<0.001), prior chemotherapy (P<0.001) and pathological type (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Significant reduction in plasma levels of selenium was recorded in patients undergoing radiotherapy, suggesting attention to the nutritional status of this micronutrient and other antioxidant agents.