Hello, I’m
Dr. Kenyon Meadows, board-certified radiation oncologist with Southeast Georgia Health System
Cancer Care Centers. Today’s video blog topic is brain metastases. When cancer spreads
from one part of the body to another, it's called metastases, and
the spread of cancer to the brain is one of the most common conditions
I see on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately, people who exhibit brain metastases
typically only survive a few months, even with appropriate treatment.
For many years the standard of care for patients with multiple brain metastases
was whole brain radiation, which while modestly effective, can be associated
with neurologic side effects, including short-term memory loss.
We now have good clinical trials published in the influential Journal of
the American Medical Association where they compare whole brain radiation
to more focused and targeted radiation, such as that available using
CyberKnife in patients with up to 3 brain metastases. What they found was that the
survival rates were similar, and that the patients receiving targeted
treatment indeed had less neurologic side effects and a higher quality of life.
If you have questions or comments about brain metastases or
CyberKnife treatment, please submit them in the comment box below. Thanks!