Radiation Therapy With or Without Radiosurgery in Treating Patients With Brain Metastases

Overview

RATIONALE: Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage tumor cells. It is not yet known whether giving radiation therapy during surgery is more effective than standard radiation therapy in treating brain metastases. PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of radiation therapy with or without radiosurgery in treating patients with brain metastases that cannot be removed during surgery.

OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the overall survival of patients with one unresected brain metastasis treated with conventional whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) with vs. without a stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) boost. II. Compare sites of recurrence and cause of death in these patients treated with WBRT followed by SRS vs. WBRT alone. OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to center and extracranial disease (yes or no). Patients are randomized to one of two treatment arms. Arm I: Patients receive fractionated external beam whole brain irradiation (WBRT) 5 days each week for 3 weeks. Both portals are treated during each radiotherapy session. Patients who still have a solitary lesion with a diameter no greater than 4.0 cm also receive stereotactic radiosurgery within 7 days of completing WBRT. Arm II: Patients receive WBRT only. Patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year, then every 4 months for 2 years, and then annually. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 262 patients will be accrued over 2.5-3.75 years for this study. The study may close early if interim analysis after 33% and 67% of patients have been followed for 6 months produces significant results. After 6/14/99 an additional 46 patients with a solitary brain metastasis only will be accrued.

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Eligibility

Locations (258)