Patients with three or fewer metastatic brain tumors who received treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) had less cognitive deterioration three months after treatment than patients who received SRS combined with whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT). These findings are according to the results of a federally funded, Mayo Clinic-led, multi-institution research study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). “Metastatic brain tumors are unfortunately common in patients with cancer,” says Paul Brown, MD, a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic and the lead author of the study. Dr. Brown says that, while SRS gives physicians the opportunity to treat tumors and spare healthy brain tissue, a combination of SRS plus WBRT has been shown to help control growth of metastatic brain tumors. “The concern is that WBRT also damages cognitive function,” says Dr. Brown. “That is why we have been studying the use of SRS alone.” To read more, click here.
