Concurrent Immunotherapy and Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Patients with Melanoma Brain Metastases is not Associated with Increased Risk of Brain Radionecrosis

Purpose/ObjectivesClinical trials of anti-Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein (CTLA-4) therapies have demonstrated a clinical benefit with low rates of neurologic adverse events in patients with melanoma brain metastases (MBMs). While the combined effect of these immunotherapies (ITs) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has yielded impressive results with regard to local control (LC) and overall survival (OS), it has also been associated with increased rates of radiation necrosis (RN) compared to historical series of SRS alone. We retrospectively reviewed patients treated with IT in combination with SRS to report on predictors of clinical outcomes.Materials and MethodsPatients were included if they had MBMs treated with SRS within 1 year of receiving anti-PD-1 and/or CTLA-4 therapy. Clinical outcomes including OS, LC, intracranial death (ID), and RN were correlated with type and timing of IT with SRS, radiation dose, total volume, and size and number of lesions treated.ResultsTwenty-nine patients with 171 MBMs were treated between May 2012 and May 2018. Patients had a median of 5 lesions treated (median volume of 6.5 cm3) over a median of 2 courses of SRS. The median dose was 21 Gy. Most patients were treated with ipilimumab (n = 13) or nivolumab-ipilimumab (n = 10). Most patients underwent SRS concurrently or within 3 months of receiving immunotherapy (n = 21). Two-year OS and LC were 54.4% and 85.5%, respectively. In addition, 14% of patients developed RN; however, only 4.7% of the total treated lesions developed RN. The median time to development of RN was 9.5 months. Patients with an aggregate tumor volume >6.5 cm3 were found to be at increased risk of ID (p = 0.05) and RN (p = 0.03). There was no difference in OS, ID, or RN with regard to type of IT, timing of SRS and IT, number of SRS courses, SRS dose, or number of cumulative lesions treated.ConclusionsIn our series, patients treated with SRS and IT for MBMs had excellent rates of OS and LC; however, patients with an aggregate tumor volume >6.5 cm3 were found to be at increased risk of ID and RN. Given the efficacy of combined anti-PD-1/CTLA-4 therapy for MBM management, further study of optimal selection criteria for the addition of SRS is warranted.

Download Full-text

Time from stereotactic radiosurgery to immunotherapy in patients with melanoma brain metastases and impact on outcome

Journal of Neuro-Oncology ◽

10.1007/s11060-020-03663-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rodney E. Wegner ◽

Stephen Abel ◽

Randy S. D’Amico ◽

Gautam U. Mehta ◽

Jason Sheehan

Keyword(s):

Brain Metastases ◽

Stereotactic Radiosurgery ◽

Melanoma Brain Metastases

Download Full-text

Hemorrhagic and Cystic Brain Metastases Are Associated With an Increased Risk of Leptomeningeal Dissemination After Surgical Resection and Adjuvant Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Neurosurgery ◽

10.1093/neuros/nyy436 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 85 (5) ◽

pp. 632-641 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Robert H Press ◽

Chao Zhang ◽

Mudit Chowdhary ◽

Roshan S Prabhu ◽

Matthew J Ferris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Brain Metastases ◽

Stereotactic Radiosurgery ◽

Surgical Resection ◽

Cumulative Incidence ◽

Postoperative Radiotherapy ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Competing Risk ◽

Leptomeningeal Dissemination ◽

Increased Risk

Abstract BACKGROUND Brain metastases (BM) treated with surgical resection and focal postoperative radiotherapy have been associated with an increased risk of subsequent leptomeningeal dissemination (LMD). BMs with hemorrhagic and/or cystic features contain less solid components and may therefore be at higher risk for tumor spillage during resection. OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between hemorrhagic and cystic BMs treated with surgical resection and stereotactic radiosurgery and the risk of LMD. METHODS One hundred thirty-four consecutive patients with a single resected BM treated with adjuvant stereotactic radiosurgery from 2008 to 2016 were identified. Intracranial outcomes including LMD were calculated using the cumulative incidence model with death as a competing risk. Univariable analysis and multivariable analysis were assessed using the Fine & Gray model. Overall survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS Median imaging follow-up was 14.2 mo (range 2.5-132 mo). Hemorrhagic and cystic features were present in 46 (34%) and 32 (24%) patients, respectively. The overall 12- and 24-mo cumulative incidence of LMD with death as a competing risk was 11.0 and 22.4%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, hemorrhagic features (hazard ratio [HR] 2.34, P = .015), cystic features (HR 2.34, P = .013), breast histology (HR 3.23, P = .016), and number of brain metastases >1 (HR 2.09, P = .032) were independently associated with increased risk of LMD. CONCLUSION Hemorrhagic and cystic features were independently associated with increased risk for postoperative LMD. Patients with BMs containing these intralesion features may benefit from alternative treatment strategies to mitigate this risk.

Download Full-text