Preservation of long-term neurocognitive function by hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy in patients with brain metastases.

Abstract

124 Background: To investigate the preservation of long-term neurocognitive function in patients after hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT). Methods: For the retrospective analysis, 50 patients diagnosed with brain metastases were selected and divided into two groups from 2015-01-01 to 2017-12-31 at the Department of Oncology, Jiangsu Subei People's Hospital. Group A (n=27) was hippocampal avoidance whole-brain radiotherapy group; group B (n=23) was whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) group. Neurocognitive function was statistically analyzed at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months after radiotherapy, as scored by the MMSE (Mine-Mental State Examination) scales and the MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) scales. The OS, PFS and tumor recurrence sites of the two groups was also analyzed. Results: After 12, 24 months after radiotherapy, there was a significant difference between the two groups. The cognitive function of the hippocampal protection group was significantly higher than that of the non-hippocampal protection group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in OS (P=0.2) and PFS (P=0.18) between the two groups. 14 patents in group A and 12 patents in group B had brain tumor recurrence after radiation, only one patient in group A occurred 5 mm within the edge of the hippocampus (P>0.05). Conclusions: First, HA-WBRT has a protective effect on long-term neurocognitive function. Second, there was no statistically significant different on OS and PFS in patients who underwent HA-WBRT or WBRT. Third, HA-WBRT didn’t increase the risk of brain tumor recurrence within the edge of the hippocampus.