A substantial number of patients with brain metastases who experience cognitive side effects following radiation therapy may fully regain cognitive function, according to a pooled analysis of three large, phase III clinical trials. Recovery was more likely for people treated with conformal, or highly targeted, radiation techniques, compared to standard whole-brain treatment. The findings will be presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.
No longer should we be viewing cognitive dysfunction as a permanent endpoint for patients. Our research finds that the cognitive side effects of radiation treatment for people with brain metastases appear to be fully reversible, and patients appear to be able to sustain that recovery over the long-term." Hua-Ren Ryan Cherng, MD, lead author of the study and radiation oncology resident, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore An estimated 30% of all people with cancer -; about 600,000 people each year -; are diagnosed with brain metastases at some point in the course of their disease.
Standard treatment for brain metastases, or cancer that has spread to the brain, often includes either whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) or more conformal radiation techniques, which target the radiation dose more precisely to the tumor site and minimize exposure to healthy brain tissue. Cerebral radiation therapy helps prevent the cancer from spreading further inside the brain, but patients may experience c.