Summary
Amongst 15000 autopsies performed between 1969 and 1984 in the Department of Pathology of the University Hospital of Innsbruck (Austria) 237 cases (1.6%) with brain metastases were found. The mean age of patients was 61.2 years and 148 patients out of 230 cases with satisfactory records were male (64.3%). Multiple lesions were found in 58%. In absolute figures carcinoma of the lung, followed by malignant melanoma and breast carcinoma were, as in other series, the most frequent primary site for brain metastases. The relative frequency of brain metastases in various anatomical regions of the brain showed that malignant melanoma tends to metastasize to the frontal and temporal lobes, breast carcinoma to the cerebellum and the basal ganglia, large cell carcinoma of the lung to the occipital lobe and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung to the cerebellum. Metastases of small cell carcinoma of the lung were found equally distributed in all regions of the brain. Our study supports the results of several experimental investigations, suggesting the possibility that specific cell surface properties of metastasizing tumour cells and particular properties of the vascular endothelium of the target organs of metastasis are responsible for the location of metastases. The results of this study suggest that there are substantial differences in regard to these properties even within one target organ.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aronson SM, Garcia JH, Aronson BE (1964) Metastatic neoplasms of the brain; their frequency in relation to age. Cancer 17:558–563
Baker AB (1942) Metastatic tumors of the nervous system. Arch Pathol 34:495–537
Brunson KW, Beattie G, Nicolson GL (1978) Selection and altered properties of brain-colonising metastatic melanoma. Nature 272:543–545
Brunson KW, Nicolson GL (1979) Selection of malignant variant cell lines for ovary colonisation. J Supra Structure 11:517–528
Chu FHC, Hilaris BS (1961) Value of radiation therapy in the management of intracranial metastasis. Cancer 14:577–581
Diviri E, Schachner A, Halevy A, Shaut M, Levy MJ (1983) Carcinoma of lung with a solitary cerebral metastasis. Cancer 52:1507–1509
Ewing J (1928) Neoplastic Diseases. Ed. 3. Saunders, Philadelphia
Fidler IJ (1973) Selection of successive tumor lines for metastasis. Nat New Biol 242:148–149
Fidler IJ (1978) General considerations for studies of experimental cancer metastasis. Methods Cancer Res 15:399–439
France LH (1975) Contribution of the study of 150 cases of cerebral metastases: II. Neuropathological study. J Neurosurg Sci 19:189–210
Haar F, Patterson RH Jr (1972) Surgery for metastatic intracranial neoplasm. Cancer 30:1241–1245
Irimura T, Gonzales R, Nicolson GL (1981) Effect of tunicamycin on B16 metastatic melanoma cell surface glycoproteins and blood borne arrest and survival properties. Cancer Res 41:3411–3418
Komáromy L (1961) Anatomische Gehirnsektion. Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, pp 48–49
Le Chevalier T, Smith FP, Caille P, Constans JP, Rouesse JG (1985) Sites of primary malignancies in patients presenting with cerebral metastases. A review of 120 cases. Cancer 56:880–882
McGee EE (1971) Surgical treatment of cerebral metastasis from lung cancer. The effect on quality and duration of survival. J Neurosurg 35:416–420
Nicolson GL (1982) Metastatic tumor cell attachment and invasion assay utilizing vascular endothelial cell monolayers. J Histochem Cytochem 30:214–222
Nicolson GL, Winkelhake JL (1975) Organ specificity of bloodborne tumor metastasis determined by cell adhesion. Nature 255:230–232
Paget S (1889) The distribution of secondary growths in cancer of the breast. Lancet 1:571–573
Simionescu MD (1960) Metastatic tumors of the brain. A follow-up study of 195 patients with neurosurgical considerations. J Neurosurg 17:361–373
Schmid-Wermser K, Nagel GA, Schmid AH (1974) Zur klinischen Diagnose von Hirnmetastasen beim Bronchuskarzinom. Schweiz Med Wochenschr 104:464–468
Schreiber D, Janisch W, Zimmermann K (1978) Die Frequenz von Metastasen im Zentralnervensystem (ZNS) in Abhängigkeit von Tumorarten und Lebensalter. Eine Untersuchung am Obduktionsgut. Neuropathol Pol 16:269–279
Schreiber D, Bernstein K, Warzok R (1982) Metastases of the central nervous system. A prospective study. Zentralbl Allg Pathol 126:41–52
Stortebecker TP (1954) Metastatic tumors of the brain from a neurosurgical point of view. A follow-up study of 158 cases. J Neurosurg 11:84–111
Strang R, Ajmone-Marsan C (1961) Brain metastases. Pathological-electroencephalographic study. Arch Neurol 4:18–20
Tao T, Matter A, Vogel K, Burger MM (1979) Liver-colonising melanoma cells selected from B16 melanoma. Int J Cancer 23:854–857
Vider M, Maruyama Y, Narvaez R (1977) Significance of the vertebral venous (Batson's) plexus in metastatic spread in colorectal carcinoma. Cancer 40:67–71
Vieth RG, Odon GL (1965) Intracranial metastases and their neurosurgical treatment. J Neurosurg 23:375–383
Winston KR, Walsh JW, Fisher EG (1980) Results of operative treatment of intracranial metastatic tumors. Cancer 45:2639–2645
Young DF, Posner JB, Chu F, Nisce L (1974) Rapid-course radiation therapy of cerebral metastases: results and complications. Cancer 34:1069–1076
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Graf, AH., Buchberger, W., Langmayr, H. et al. Site preference of metastatic tumours of the brain. Vichows Archiv A Pathol Anat 412, 493–498 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00750584
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00750584