Advantages of surgical resection of brain metastasis from lung cancer

Abstract

The advantage of surgical resection of metastatic brain tumours is controversial. We reviewed the survival time of 28 patients with brain metastasis from lung cancer. In the patients who underwent surgical resection of metastatic brain tumours, the survival time of the 15 patients with radiation was significantly longer than that of the 10 other patients. Also, the survival time of the 10 patients who underwent surgical resection in the original site of lung cancer was significantly longer than that of the other 15 patients. Survival time was longer in the patients who underwent both surgical resections of metastatic brain tumour and postoperative radiotherapy and in those who underwent surgical resection of both metastatic brain tumour and the primary lung cancer. We emphasise the advantage of surgical resection of both metastatic brain tumour and primary lung cancer and postoperative radiotherapy in the treatment of brain metastasis from lung cancer.