Abstract
Brain metastases are found at diagnosis in 10% of patients with small cell lung cancer. To clarify the effect of central nervous system metastases on prognosis, the records of 429 patients with small cell lung cancer were reviewed. Forty-three patients (10%) presented with brain metastases. In 18 patients the brain was the only site of metastatic disease, whereas the remaining 25 patients had at least one additional metastatic site. Forty-one of forty-three patients were treated with combination chemotherapy and cranial radiotherapy. Systemic response rates were similar for both groups. Twenty-seven patients underwent repeat central nervous system staging: 19 (70%) had a complete response, 4 (15%) a partial response, and 4 (15%) no response. Median survival of patients with only one site of metastatic disease was 11 months; patients with additional sites lived 5 months (p = 0.153). Survival in patients with only one site is similar to that in patients with limited disease (11 compared with 13 months; p = 0.074).
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 386-389 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Annals of internal medicine |
Volume | 106 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1987 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Internal Medicine