Evaluation of Whole Brain Radiotherapy among Lung Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases in Relation to Health Care Level and Survival

Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) as a treatment for brain metastases has been questioned over the last years. This study aimed to evaluate health care levels and survival after WBRT in a cohort of lung cancer patients with brain metastases receiving WBRT in Stockholm, Sweden, from 2008 to 2019 (n = 384). If the patients were able to come home again was estimated using logistic regression and odds ratios (OR) and survival by using Cox regression. The median age in the cohort was 65.6 years, the median survival following WBRT was 2.4 months (interquartile range (IQR) 1.2-6.2 months), and 84 (22%) patients were not able to come home after treatment. Significantly more males could come home again after WBRT compared to women (OR = 0.37, 95%CI 0.20-0.68). Patients with performance status scores WHO 3-4 had a median survival of 1.0 months, hazard ratio (HR) = 4.69 (95%CI 3.31-6.64) versus WHO score 0-1. Patients admitted to a palliative ward before WBRT had a median survival of 0.85 months, HR = 2.26 (95%CI 1.53-3.34) versus being at home. In conclusion, patients treated with WBRT had a short median survival and 20% could not be discharged from the hospital following treatment. Significantly more women did not come home again.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the healthcare levels and survival of lung cancer patients receiving whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in Stockholm. The results show that patients have a short median survival, and a portion of them are unable to return home. There is a higher proportion of women who cannot come home.