Management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysis

Abstract Background Patients with brain metastases face a poor prognosis when deemed not to be suitable for onco-surgical intervention. This feasibility study analyses the outcome of adaptive radiosurgery applied in customised settings to a group of patients with brain metastases, where no other for...

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Main Authors: G. Sinclair, H. Martin, C.M. Allison, M.A. Hatiboglu, H. Speckter, A. Fytagoridis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:Radiation Oncology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13014-025-02692-x
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author G. Sinclair
H. Martin
C.M. Allison
M.A. Hatiboglu
H. Speckter
A. Fytagoridis
author_facet G. Sinclair
H. Martin
C.M. Allison
M.A. Hatiboglu
H. Speckter
A. Fytagoridis
author_sort G. Sinclair
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Patients with brain metastases face a poor prognosis when deemed not to be suitable for onco-surgical intervention. This feasibility study analyses the outcome of adaptive radiosurgery applied in customised settings to a group of patients with brain metastases, where no other form of treatment was deemed safe and/or feasible. Methods 29 patients with 35 brain metastases deemed not to be candidates for surgery, radiotherapy or systemic treatment were treated with MRI-guided adaptive Gamma Knife radiosurgery in 3 separate sessions with a 72-hour interval. Customised synchronous double-dose prescriptions were systematically utilised at each session. Estimated survival at pre-treatment was fewer than 4 weeks due to the targeted intracranial lesions. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the whole cohort, with particular emphasis on those surviving 12 months and beyond. Results The median overall survival was 7.3 months, with a follow-up of 7.5 years. Survival at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months was 62%, 41%, 17%, 14%, 10% and 7%, respectively. Local tumour control (LTC) at 1 year was 75%. 4 patients developed local recurrence late on follow-up, with a survival ranging between 12 and 40 months. 2 patients were alive at the time of submission (115- and 117-months post-treatment) with no sequelae; the remainder succumbed to general disease progression, with neurologic death being avoided throughout the whole cohort. Adverse radiation effects (ARE) were reported in 5 patients, of which 4 remained asymptomatic throughout follow-up. Conclusions Based on the results of this first retrospective study, adaptive radiosurgery in double-dose prescription settings provided acceptable rates of LTC and ARE despite the underlying accelerated timeline, ultimately preventing neurologic death in a group of patients with an extremely poor prognosis. Prospective studies involving a larger number of patients with homogenous histology are warranted to validate the results of this study and optimise the technique.
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spelling doaj-art-5a81488b37804bb1b5cd30e95f374ec12025-08-20T03:46:12ZengBMCRadiation Oncology1748-717X2025-08-0120112210.1186/s13014-025-02692-xManagement of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysisG. Sinclair0H. Martin1C.M. Allison2M.A. Hatiboglu3H. Speckter4A. Fytagoridis5Department of Neurosurgery, Karolinska University HospitalDepartment of Neuroradiology, Karolinska University HospitalDepartment of Neurosurgery, Royal Victoria InfirmaryDepartment of Neurosurgery, Bezmialem Vakif University HospitalCentro Gamma Knife Dominicano, CEDIMATDepartment of Neurosurgery, Karolinska University HospitalAbstract Background Patients with brain metastases face a poor prognosis when deemed not to be suitable for onco-surgical intervention. This feasibility study analyses the outcome of adaptive radiosurgery applied in customised settings to a group of patients with brain metastases, where no other form of treatment was deemed safe and/or feasible. Methods 29 patients with 35 brain metastases deemed not to be candidates for surgery, radiotherapy or systemic treatment were treated with MRI-guided adaptive Gamma Knife radiosurgery in 3 separate sessions with a 72-hour interval. Customised synchronous double-dose prescriptions were systematically utilised at each session. Estimated survival at pre-treatment was fewer than 4 weeks due to the targeted intracranial lesions. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the whole cohort, with particular emphasis on those surviving 12 months and beyond. Results The median overall survival was 7.3 months, with a follow-up of 7.5 years. Survival at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months was 62%, 41%, 17%, 14%, 10% and 7%, respectively. Local tumour control (LTC) at 1 year was 75%. 4 patients developed local recurrence late on follow-up, with a survival ranging between 12 and 40 months. 2 patients were alive at the time of submission (115- and 117-months post-treatment) with no sequelae; the remainder succumbed to general disease progression, with neurologic death being avoided throughout the whole cohort. Adverse radiation effects (ARE) were reported in 5 patients, of which 4 remained asymptomatic throughout follow-up. Conclusions Based on the results of this first retrospective study, adaptive radiosurgery in double-dose prescription settings provided acceptable rates of LTC and ARE despite the underlying accelerated timeline, ultimately preventing neurologic death in a group of patients with an extremely poor prognosis. Prospective studies involving a larger number of patients with homogenous histology are warranted to validate the results of this study and optimise the technique.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13014-025-02692-xBrain neoplasmsNeoplasm metastasisCombined modality therapyRadiosurgery
spellingShingle G. Sinclair
H. Martin
C.M. Allison
M.A. Hatiboglu
H. Speckter
A. Fytagoridis
Management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysis
Radiation Oncology
Brain neoplasms
Neoplasm metastasis
Combined modality therapy
Radiosurgery
title Management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysis
title_full Management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysis
title_fullStr Management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysis
title_full_unstemmed Management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysis
title_short Management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double-dose prescription-based, adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery: a long-term retrospective analysis
title_sort management of critically located brain metastases in patients with precluded survival using customised double dose prescription based adaptive accelerated staged radiosurgery a long term retrospective analysis
topic Brain neoplasms
Neoplasm metastasis
Combined modality therapy
Radiosurgery
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13014-025-02692-x
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