Search

Objectives This study aimed to determine prognostic factors associated with postrecurrence survival in cases with postoperative brain metastasis but with no extracranial metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Material and methods Between 1992 and 2012, a total of 2832 patients underwent surgical resection for NSCLC. Among those, 86 patients had postoperative brain metastasis as the initial recurrence. Those patients were retrospectively reviewed. Results The median follow-up time after the initial lung resection was 24.0 months (range, 2.0–126.0 months). The median overall survival after initial lung cancer resection was 25.0 months and the median overall postrecurrence survival was 11 months. An initial lesion of adenocarcinoma (hazard ratio, 0.548; 95% confidence interval, 0.318 to 0.946; p = 0.031), non-pneumonectomy, and a disease-free interval longer than 10.0 months (hazard ratio, 0.565; 95% confidence interval, 0.321–0.995; p = 0.048) from the initial lung resection to the diagnosis of brain metastasis positively related to a good postrecurrence survival. Solitary brain metastasis and a size of less than 3 cm for the largest brain lesion were also positive factors for postrecurrence survival. Systemic chemotherapy for brain metastasis (hazard ratio, 0.356; 95% confidence interval, 0.189–0.670; p = 0.001) and local treatment of surgery and/or stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain lesions (hazard ratio, 0.321; 95% confidence interval, 0.138–0.747; p = 0.008) were positive factors for better postrecurrence survival. Conclusion In patients with brain metastasis after resection for NSCLC with no extracranial metastasis, adenocarcinoma histologic type, longer disease-free interval, systemic chemotherapy for brain metastasis and local treatment of surgery and/or SRS for brain metastasis are independent positive prognostic factors for postrecurrence survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]