For Release: October 28, 1998
Contact: Keri J. Sperry, (703) 295-6775
Michael J. Bernstein (703) 648-8910, [email protected]
According To Study, Radiation Used After Surgery Keeps Brain Cancer From Returning
In a new study, 82 percent of patients with a single site of metastatic brain tumor, who had surgery and postoperative radiation, did not have a recurrence of their brain cancer. This number compared to 30 percent of those not receiving post-operative radiation.
The study was presented October 28th at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Phoenix, AZ.
Everyone who participated in the study had surgery to remove their isolated brain metastasis. All patients had MRI of the head two to five days after surgery to rule out other lesions and to confirm the brain was free of visible cancer.
One-half of the study patients received radiation to the brain as part of the postoperative plan. The other half did not receive this treatment. Both groups received MRI scans at three-month intervals for the first year following treatment and every six months thereafter.
For patients who participated in the postoperative irradiation, therapy began within 28 days after surgery. Patients received whole brain radiotherapy over five and one-half weeks.
In addition to decreasing the brain tumor recurrence rate, the patients in the radiotherapy group were much less likely to die of neurologic causes than the patients in the observation group.
The study opened in September of 1989 and concluded in 1997 according to William F. Regine, M.D. associate professor of radiation medicine, and associate director of clinical research for the Markey Cancer Center at University of Kentucky in Lexington.
This research is a follow-up to Dr. Roy Patchell's 1990 study that determined brain surgery was beneficial. Prior to the 1990 study, physicians questioned whether surgery was of value in treating this kind of brain cancer.
Dr. Patchell's findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 322, February 1990. Dr. Patchell is the chief of neuro-oncology at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. According to Dr. Regine, "Dr. Patchell's previous findings and his vital role in this study have helped to set a new standard in the treatment of these types of brain tumors."
The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with some 5,000 members. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific basis of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer. To receive copies of the abstracts contact Keri J. Sperry (703) 295-6775.
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