Quality of life in patients with brain metastases receiving upfront as compared to salvage stereotactic radiosurgery using the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL and the EORTC QLQ BN20 + 2: a pilot study

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study is to investigate quality of life (QOL) outcomes in patients receiving either upfront (no prior whole brain radiation) or salvage (prior whole brain radiotherapy) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C15-PAL and the EORTC QLQ-BN20+2 questionnaires. Methods Thirty patients who received either upfront or salvage SRS for brain metastases completed the two questionnaires before and 4 weeks following SRS. Scale scores at baseline and at the 1-month follow-up were calculated using the EORTC scoring manual. Results Fifteen patients were treated with upfront SRS and 15 with salvage SRS. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were balanced with the exception of more patients in the salvage cohort having had received prior systemic therapy (93 % vs. 40 %; p00.0052, respectively). When comparing QOL outcomes at baseline and at 1 month post-SRS, no significant differences in QOL were observed between cohorts based on the EORTC QLQ C15-PAL and the EORTC QLQ-BN20+2 change scales. Conclusion Patients receiving salvage SRS maintain a similar QOL profile as compared to patients treated upfront with SRS at 1-month posttreatment. Our findings support the use of salvage SRS in patients with brain relapse following prior WBRT.