P14.03 Shifting trends and entity-specific aspects in patients with brain metastasis: real-life analysis from 6031 individuals over an observation period of 30 years

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate the changing clinical characteristics of patients with brain metastases (BM) over the last three decades as the foundation for modern BM specific clinical trial planning.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

6031 patients with newly diagnosed BM from different solid tumors treated between 1986–2020 were identified from the Vienna Brain Metastasis Registry.

RESULTS

The fraction of BM originating from the most common BM causing primary tumors (lung cancer, breast cancer and melanoma) was stable over the observation period from 1986–2020. BM from renal cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer and cancer of unknown primary (CUP) decreased over time (p<0.001). Synchronous diagnosis of BM and primary tumor was more frequently observed in lung cancer and CUP patients compared to breast cancer patients (p<0.001). An increasing fraction of patients presented with asymptomatic BM (1986–1999: 20.2% vs. 2010–2020: 30.4%; p<0.001), specifically in lung cancer (p<0.001), melanoma (p<0.001) and renal cell cancer (p=0.004). A decrease of neurosurgical procedures (1986–1999: 39.3% vs. 2010–2020: 20.4%) and an increase of radiation treatments (1986–1999: 56.5% vs. 2010–2020: 73.0%) and systemic therapies (1986–1999: 0.6% vs. 2010–2020: 2.4%; p<0.001) was observed. Furthermore, median overall survival significantly increased across entities (1986–1999: 5 months vs. 2010–2020: 7 months; p=0.001). Intracranial progression as the cause of death increased across entities (p< 0.001). The prognostic DS-GPA (Hazard ratio [HR] 1.42; p< 0.001) and the Lung-molGPA (HR 1.67; p<0.001) could be validated.

CONCLUSION

We observed changes of BM presentation and clinical parameters during the observation period depending on primary tumor origins. Future BM studies should follow an entity-specific approach and address the characteristics of modern BM cohorts.