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Patients with brain metastases derived from gastrointestinal cancer: clinical characteristics and prognostic factors

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Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to evaluate the natural history, outcome, and possible prognostic factors in patients with brain metastases derived from gastrointestinal cancers.

Methods

The clinical features, prognostic factors, and the effects of different treatment modalities on survival were retrospectively investigated in 103 patients with brain metastases derived from gastrointestinal cancers.

Results

The median time from diagnosis of primary tumor to brain metastasis was 22.00 months. The interval between diagnosis of primary tumor relapse and brain metastasis was 8.00 months. The median follow-up time was 7.80 months. The median survival time after diagnosis of brain metastases was 4.10 months for all patients and 1.17 months for patients who received only steroids (36.9 %), 3.97 months for patients who only received whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT 31.1 %), 11.07 months for patients who received gamma-knife surgery alone or/and WBRT (20.4 %), and 13.70 months for patients who underwent surgery and radiotherapy (12 patients, 11.6 %) (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class, extracranial metastasis, and chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors. Brain metastasis derived from gastrointestinal tract cancer is rare, and overall patient survival is poor.

Conclusion

RPA class, chemotherapy after brain metastases, and treatment regimens were independent prognostic factors for the survival of patients with brain metastases derived from gastrointestinal cancers.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declared no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Center, Affiliated Hospital of Academy of Military Medical Sciences, No.8 Dong Da Street, FengTai District, Beijing, 100071, People’s Republic of China

    L. Lin, C.-H. Zhao, F.-J. Ge, Y. Wang, Y.-L. Chen, R.-R. Liu, R. Jia, L.-J. Liu, J.-Z. Liu & J.-M. Xu

Authors
  1. L. Lin
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  2. C.-H. Zhao
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  3. F.-J. Ge
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  4. Y. Wang
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  5. Y.-L. Chen
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  6. R.-R. Liu
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  7. R. Jia
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  8. L.-J. Liu
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  9. J.-Z. Liu
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  10. J.-M. Xu
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Correspondence to J.-M. Xu.

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Lin, L., Zhao, CH., Ge, FJ. et al. Patients with brain metastases derived from gastrointestinal cancer: clinical characteristics and prognostic factors. Clin Transl Oncol 18, 93–98 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-015-1341-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-015-1341-8

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